"Drive! Drive! ”

In the night, horses with torches gallop on the official road.

From the new city to the city, there are more than 350 miles in total.

This was the first night they had been on their way since the hour, and now it was already slightly bright.

After three and a half hours of travel, they withdrew from Xincheng to Linzi and crossed Zishui, and Yidu County, the seat of Qingzhou Prefecture, was only more than 40 miles away from them.

"After resting here for half an hour, we will continue to hurry, and we will arrive in Linqu before nightfall today."

Zhu Gaoxu stopped everyone, and the 6,000 cavalry dismounted when they heard the sound, and they didn't care about drinking water themselves, so they first unloaded the armor and food on the back of the horse, and at the same time fed water and beans to the military horse and the horse.

One pound of beans and three pounds of water for each horse, and after feeding, they let them find grass nearby to eat.

Zhu Gaoxu, who dismounted, looked at the faint sky, directly extinguished the torch in his hand, and then took out a few dry and hard cakes from his arms and ate them a few bites, and then barely swallowed them with water.

These things are not unpalatable to Chu Gaoxu, but for many people who have not eaten coarse noodle food, they are definitely not delicious.

In the era when there was no refining, and when rice and wheat were ground only by stone milling, many foods were grainy, and it was very uncomfortable to eat them.

Of course, for this era, being able to eat three meals a day is already the greatest luxury of ordinary people.

Zhu Gaoxu felt the coarse grain cake in his mouth that he couldn't swallow, and then glanced at the soldiers who were sitting down to rest around him.

Even though they have been eating fine rice and wheat in Bohai for several years, they still eat this kind of coarse grain cake very deliciously.

In the final analysis, before Zhu Gaoxu arrived in the Bohai Sea, most of them were Jurchen savages who had two meals a day and sometimes couldn't eat enough.

If it weren't for Zhu Gaoxu's arrival, maybe they would have lived like that for the rest of their lives.

They fought for Zhu Gaoxu, and the initial purpose was to stand Zhu Gaochu being treated so harshly by Zhu Yunwen, and wanted to continue to maintain the life of the past few years.

Although they are now eating coarse grain cakes, they know that their family is eating fine rice and wheat, and that is enough.

"Let's go!"

After a short half-hour rest, the sky was already starting to lighten.

The sun hadn't come out yet, but they had to keep going.

Time passed, and soon the news of the disappearance of the Bohai Navy outside Xincheng County was known to the defenders, and the Xincheng County guards hurriedly sent people to send the news to Qingcheng County in the north.

By the time Li Jian got the news, it was already early hour.

Li Jian reported the news to Li Jinglong and their northbound direction, and Li Jinglong did not get the news until noon.

It's just that he doesn't have time to pay attention to Zhu Gaoxu at the moment, after all, the situation in Shandong has been temporarily controlled.

With Li Jian's 40,000-strong army in Qingcheng, Zhu Gaoxu could not march northwest to threaten Cangzhou and Dezhou.

Sheng Yong over there had already arrived in Huai'an, relying on the Huai River defense line, Zhu Gaoxu was also difficult to cross for a while, so what he had to do was to seize the time to go north and force Zhu Di to withdraw to Beiping.

Li Jinglong thought very well, but his actions were unsatisfactory.

"Walk to the front of the battle, and suddenly withdraw the troops......"

In the Wuying Hall in the capital, Zhu Yunwen, who was wearing the emperor's regular clothes, looked at the music in his hand, and there was a sense of anger in his heart that he couldn't let out.

In the hall, Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai, Bang Zhao, and Fang Xiaoru stood in a row waiting for him, the emperor, to speak, but what else could he say?

"Isn't Chen Hui and Teng Ju's sweet and cool fine horses vertical and horizontal, galloping in Qinghai?"

"Why was it so easy to be defeated by the Yanshu people?"

"Who Aiqing can tell me what's going on?"

"Why is there less and less soldiers and horses in the imperial court, but there are more and more soldiers and horses in the thief army, and the territory is getting bigger and bigger."

"Has the imperial court organized a decent war?"

Zhu Yunwen questioned the four people, and Huang Zicheng deliberately defended: "Your Majesty, it is not false that Cao Guogong is worried, the Bohai Navy has the advantage of firearms, boats and boats, and it is fast to run back and forth, and the Bohai Shu people have always been wise, and they will enter the army easily, and it is inevitable that the war will stalemate." ”

"Compared with it, it is better to go north and fight with Yan Yi in the Baigou River."

"The Yanshu people are the father of the Bohai Shu people, the father is in trouble, the son will save him, then the Bohai Shu people will definitely turn their troops and go to Beiping, which is exactly the decisive battle that the court wants."

Huang Zicheng talked around for a while, but he didn't get to the point, and Qi Tai, who couldn't listen to it, could only stand up and say:

"Right now, Chen Hui and Teng Ju's elite cavalry have been captured by Yan Rebellion, and with a little training, Yan Rebellion's elite cavalry will be thousands more."

"If our army's preparations in Zhuozhou and Dong'an are not coordinated by cavalry, it will not be a corner-wrenching situation, but it will be easy to be divided and attacked."

"Cao Guogong went north and let the Marquis of Jiangyin and Xu Dudu lead the army to retreat south, just to use the water network of Baigou River, Wugongdian and Triangle Lake to restrict the Yan army's horse cavalry."

"Although there are firearms in Bohai, Yan Wei does not."

"At that time, my 300,000 dignified army will go north, and it can be an artillery siege or a large army to press in, no matter what, there will be leeway."

"As for the Shandong side, Li Juma has led 40,000 soldiers and horses to guard Qingcheng, restricting the Bohai Shu people to the northwest to join the Yanshu people, and in the south, there are 40,000 troops prepared by Sheng Yong and 20,000 Ruishi in Beijing, which is 60,000 people."

"Whether these 60,000 people go north to Xuzhou or stick to the Huai River, they have more than enough to advance and retreat, Your Majesty doesn't have to worry."

Qi Tai felt that he had said it very clearly, but Zhu Yunwen listened to it so harshly.

"The thief army has now occupied the second mansion of Denglai in Shandong, and there is no one in Qingzhou Mansion to curb it."

"Cao Guogong has 300,000 soldiers and horses but has not made any military exploits for a long time, and the thief army is difficult to deal with, I understand, but he has been governing the army for half a year without any success, what do you think I should think of him?"

"There are also the Bohai Shu people, who dare to confront our 100,000 officers and troops with only 6,000, even if you add the other three roads, there are only more than 30,000 people."

"With this amount of troops, Cao Guogong was afraid to move forward, but he felt that 30,000 or 40,000 Bohai Shu people were not easy to fight, and hundreds of thousands of Yanshu people were easy to fight."

"If he doesn't fight the Bohai Shu people, will it be difficult to wait until the Bohai Shu people cross the Huai River, cross the Yangtze River, and hit the capital?!"

The more Zhu Yunwen talked, the more excited he became, and the support he gave to Geng Bingwen and Li Jinglong can be said to be unprecedented and unprecedented.

Behind Li Jinglong's 300,000 army were the millions of people he had mobilized.

Dare to ask how many emperors have dared to dispatch like this throughout the ages?

He is like this, but he still can't hear a good news, which makes him believe in this group of so-called 'famous generals'.

Thinking of this, he turned sideways and turned his back to the four people: "I still say the same thing, if you can't even create a great victory before the autumn, then the matter of counterinsurgency will be handed over to others." ”

"The ministers receive the order ......" The four of them made a move, but they had different ideas.

Huang Zicheng felt that Li Jinglong was not worthy of his name, while Fang Xiaoru and Bang Zhao were thinking about how to recommend their fellow villagers and how to exempt Jiangnan from taxes.

Only Qi Tai frowned, he knew very well how much pressure Li Jinglong was on.

In terms of ability, Li Jinglong is not as good as Zhu Di, Zhu Di is the second-generation leader left by Zhu Yuanzhang to the Ming Dynasty, and only Mu Ying, who has passed away, can compare.

Li Jinglong was already a little tricky to deal with Zhu Di, not to mention dealing with a Zhu Gaochu who was personally trained by Feng Sheng and Fu Youde.

Fighting on two fronts against an enemy with nearly 100,000 horse-backed infantry on the plains, everyone in the Qitaibi Hall knew how great the pressure was.

It's just that he knows better that the emperor can't wait, and his patience is limited.

If Li Jinglong still can't create a big victory before the autumn, then the emperor will really be replaced.

"Alas......"

Qi Tai sighed inwardly, and at the same time, Zhu Yunwen also asked:

"Is there any movement in the mobilization of Song Sheng, Qu Neng, and Mu Chun?"

"Back to Your Majesty......" Huang Zicheng replied first: "The Governor of Song is already gathering Ganliang's soldiers and horses, the Governor of Qu has just withdrawn to Dali, and the Marquis of Xiping is fighting a decisive battle with Daoganmeng and cannot be withdrawn. ”

"Besides......" Huang Zicheng glanced at Zhu Yunwen vaguely, and then said cautiously: "Some soldiers and horses in the Yunnan Metropolitan Division did not listen to the orders of the Marquis of Xiping, and they did not assemble in Kunming for a long time. ”

As soon as his words fell, Zhu Yunwen's face turned dark.

He almost already knew what the three Fu brothers did in Yunnan.

No wonder Yunnan has been fighting for so long, it turns out that someone is dragging Mu Chun and their hind legs.

Qu Neng went to Sichuan by Dali, and his idea was probably that Fu Mao in Kunming would hinder him.

If it weren't for the imperial court's inability to organize wars in the southwest, Zhu Yunwen would say that he would also uproot the Fu family in Yunnan.

"After this battle, see what I do with you......"

Zhu Yunwen narrowed his eyes, and had already thought of how to rectify the Fu family after the counterinsurgency was over.

"Your Majesty!" Fang Xiaoru suddenly spoke, as if in order to brush up some sense of existence, he deliberately spoke:

"Zhou Shuren's family has arrived in Chongqing now, and they are about to enter Yunnan in the near future."

"I forgot about him." Zhu Yunwen suddenly remembered Zhu Hu, who was exiled to Yunnan by himself, if he was also making trouble in Yunnan, then the situation in Yunnan would be even more complicated.

"The edict ordered the Sichuan Metropolitan Department Yamen to escort Zhou Shuren's family back to Beijing."

Zhu Yunwen ordered, and at the same time continued to explain: "Let Qu Neng lead the troops and horses of the headquarters to return to Sichuan as soon as possible and gallop to aid the Beijing Division." ”

"The ministers receive the order...... the four of them made a move, and Zhu Yunwen also waved his sleeves to signal them to retreat.

After they left, Zhu Yunwen refocused on his dragon case.

There, the Tobe is very conspicuous.

"Your Majesty, this year's expenditure has exceeded more than 14 million ......."

"I know, I don't need you to remind me."

Li Quan wanted to step forward to remind, but Zhu Yunwen frowned and asked him to step back with his eyes.

After Li Quan left, Zhu Yunwen walked to the side of the dragon chair, held the corner of the dragon case tightly with his hand, and tried his best to suppress his temper, but in the end he still squeezed out a name from between his teeth: "Zhu... High... Genial! ”

"Wow!!"

Almost at the same time that Zhu Yunwen learned of the situation in Shandong, after three days of running, Zhu Gaoxu successfully led his troops and horses to Zhucheng County, southeast of Qingzhou Prefecture, near the sea.

It was Meng Zhang who attacked Zhucheng County, and now Zhucheng County has been taken by him.

Outside the city, a camp large enough to accommodate 50,000 people rose from the ground, and among the four armies of soldiers and horses rushing to Zhuxian, Zhu Gaoxu was the last to arrive, so the generals waited at the gate of the camp to meet him.

"His Highness Chitose!"

Meng Zhang, Chen Chang, Zhao Mu, Ta Lost, Dol and Qi, Nima Cha, Ta Rachi and other generals stood at the camp gate to welcome Zhu Gaoxu's arrival.

"Good work!"

Zhu Gaoxu turned over and dismounted, while Xu Sheng led his horse and led 6,000 cavalry into the camp to rest.

"Your Highness, please review the camp!"

Meng Zhang saluted, he knew that the first thing Zhu Gaoxu did after dismounting was to inspect the camp in case the camp was underprepared in case of a night attack.

Zhu Gaoxu did not reply, but took the generals to start reviewing the camp.

After inspecting the camp and making sure that there were no problems, he took the generals to the tent.

Shortly after his arrival, Xu Sheng also arrived.

Not only him, but also Hu Lun, who had just arrived, also appeared here.

Sitting down in the tent, Zhu Gaoxu supported his legs with one hand and held a horsewhip in the other, his eyes scanned the map on his desk, and from time to time he looked up at the sand table in the tent.

Needless to say, the craftsmanship of this sand table is made, and its accuracy can also be called the most accurate sand table of this era.

The sand table shows the Jianghuai and Shandong regions north of the Yangtze River, due to the problems of the times, many coastal cities in Jiangbei in later generations are still soaking in the sea, and have not been washed out by the Yellow River that has taken Huai into the sea.

In terms of width, the canal in Huai'an Province to the Yellow Sea is no more than 180 li, and it can be said that the depth from east to west is very short, and if the Bohai elite rider is prepared with enough energy, he can run from the canal in the west to the Yellow Sea in fifteen hours at most.

Of course, for cavalry, this line of defense was short, but for infantry, especially pure infantry, it was long.

Zhu Gaoxu went to Zhucheng, not for anything else, but to go south to the capital.

Taking advantage of Li Jinglong's attraction to the Yan army, he had to end the war as quickly as possible.

He had a hunch that if he didn't end the war as soon as possible, the Battle of Baigou River, which was different from history, would still start, and nearly 100,000 Yan Army and Southern Army elites would die here.

"I summoned you here for only one thing, and I don't need to go into too much detail about this matter!"

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes were like torches, and while he glanced at the generals, he also said bluntly:

"Now that we have taken the land of Laizhou and Dengzhou, Yisha and Sun Cheng have brought me news, the grain of the people and the government of the land of Erfu is more than 5 million stones, although counting the people of Denglai and Dengzhou, I also need to feed nearly three million people in Bohai, but these five million stones of grain are enough for them to eat for two and a half months!"

"In other words, in the next two and a half months, we can let go of our hands and feet!"

"You are all old brothers who killed me from the Bohai Sea, and I have nothing to avoid you."

"Before the war started last year, I asked Hu Lun to go south and arranged some grain stacks in many coastal towns, which cost more than 1,000 stones and hundreds of stones, enough for our army to advance lightly."

"Artillery, shells, gunpowder, baggage, ......"

"You don't need to carry any of these things, so naturally Chenggong and Cui Jun at sea will help transport them."

"What I want you to do next is to have a good night's rest, and tomorrow my whole army will set off, along the coast all the way south, until you reach Yunti Pass on the north bank of the Huai River."

"The navy will cooperate with us to take the Yunti Pass, and the next thing we have to do is to continue south, drink the Yangtze River, cross the Yangtze River on Jingjiang Shadao, and after landing in Changzhou, go all the way to the capital, and surround the capital before Zhu Yunwen escapes!"

Zhu Gaoxu's words were very brief, but they meant that they had to run 1,500 miles, and they also had to cross the Huai River and the Yangtze River.

Throughout the ages, even if they fought from north to south, in the face of these two natural dangers, many armies were broken and sunk in the first line of defense of the Huai River, and even if they hit the Yangtze River, they could only look at the Yangtze River and sigh.

Right now, His Royal Highness is going to take his group of people through these two natural dangers and attack the most important Jingshi of the imperial court.

Although they knew that this was very difficult, and even difficult to complete, the generals made a decision: "I would like to listen to His Highness's dispatch!" ”

After that, Ta Lost, Dol and Qi, Nimatsa and others asked: "Are the Huai River and the Yangtze River as wide as the Songhua River and the Heilongjiang River?" ”

"Hahahaha......" The words of several people made Meng Zhang and the others laugh, instantly washing away the heaviness in their hearts, and finally Xu Sheng smiled:

"The Huai River is about the same as Heilongjiang, but the Yangtze River is wider than Heilongjiang, almost three or five times as wide."

Xu Sheng's words are still conservative, the Yangtze River in this era is wider than that of later generations, even if it is from the capital to Jiangpu, the distance is enough eight or nine miles, and the downstream Yangzhou Mansion to Songjiang Mansion can reach an exaggerated more than forty miles.

Zhu Gaoxu chose Changzhou Mansion because there is Jingjiang, a floating island washed out by the sediment of the Yangtze River.

With the existence of this floating island, coupled with Yang Zhan's more than 100 ships, it can escort tens of thousands of people across the river in one hour.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't need so much, he only needed to be able to send 6,000 cavalry to surround Nanjing City at the first time, and at the same time, the sailors took advantage of the night to block the waterway leading to the upper reaches of Nanjing, then he succeeded.

"Your Highness, if you want to cross the Huai River, you must first defeat Sheng Yong, who is training there, he has 20,000 elites in Beijing and 40,000 soldiers who have been training for half a month."

Hu Lun opened his mouth to remind, and the generals lowered their voices one after another, waiting for Zhu Gaoxu to speak.

It's just that in the face of Sheng Yong what Hu Lun said, Zhu Gaoxu chuckled and shook his head: "If I gather the whole army, don't say that Sheng Yong takes 60,000 people to Yunti Pass to hinder me, even if my grandfather walks out, I am not afraid at all!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu's grandfather is naturally Xu Da, who is known as the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty.

What he said was not to belittle Xu Da, but that he believed in the strength of the Bohai Navy gathered in Zhucheng right now.

The 6,000 Liaonan soldiers who trained urgently brought the number of the Shenji Battalion to 15,000, in addition to the 24,000 Jurchen Eight Guards and the 6,000 Han Shao cavalry under his command, the total was 45,000.

In a year's time, Zhu Gaochu has long been no longer Wuxia Ameng in Tieling, Zhu Gaoxu, who suffered Wu Gaoxu's loss, is not idle, and Wang Yi is not just helping to chop wood and build ships in Jinzhou.

Of the 45,000 people now, Zhu Gaoxu didn't dare to say that he was like a finger, but at least he would not make a joke about the original battle of Tieling, which was pursued by tens of thousands of people, but the formation was chaotic in a dozen steps.

"Xu Sheng!"

"In!"

Zhu Gaoxu spoke, and Xu Sheng responded.

He got up slowly and said to Xu Sheng: "Leave you with three thousand Shenji battalions, you take the whole army of artillery here and wait for Zhu Chenggong, once Zhu Chenggong arrives, you and he will immediately send the artillery to the boat, all the way south to the Huai River, and shell Yunti Pass!" ”

"The last general commands!" Xu Sheng made a gesture, and Zhu Gaoxu handed him a troop transfer card, and he took it with both hands.

After he took it, Zhu Gaoxu continued to speak: "Meng Zhang led 12,000 Shenji battalions as the rear army, Zhao Mu you led 6,000 cavalry as the front army, and I personally commanded the Jurchen Eight Guards of eight people, including Ta Lost, Dol and Qi, and Nimatsa. ”

"The first battle is a decisive battle, and the first battle is decided!"

"Take the Yunti Pass, cross the Huai River, this battle is over, and the troops will go home to see their parents, wives and children!"

"I'll wait for my order!!" Hearing that the decisive battle was started by himself, the generals in the camp felt enthusiastic.

Do they care about the decisive battle, not ......

What they care about is the reward that Zhu Gaoxu gave them after winning the capital, which is the reward that can bless the descendants of the shadow.

Zhu Gaoxu motioned for the generals to retreat, and the generals also retreated one after another when they saw this.

Zhu Gaoxu was ready to rest, but his remarks made the entire Bohai Navy excited.

From the dragon's work, who doesn't want to take it?

You must know that the person who followed Emperor Taizu Gao out of Huaixi, even if it was an ordinary soldier, at least got the official position of hereditary replacement above the sixth grade, which was a real reward for retiring with the country.

In addition to this, there are also their exploits in the southward conquest, which have been recorded, and according to the rules of the Bohai Sea, whether they stay outside the pass or move to the pass, they can obtain hundreds or even hundreds of acres of land.

The soldiers are homesick, but these real rewards are what they want most now.

The next day, without Zhu Gaoxu's orders, many soldiers began to pack their things excitedly without waiting for the sky to shine.

Obviously, the capital is still more than 1,500 miles away from them, but they feel that the capital is close to them, and the same is true for glory and wealth.

Before Zhu Gaoxu got up at night, Meng Zhang, Hu Lun, Xu Sheng, Ta Lost and others got up at night to command the army out of the camp.

Standing outside the gray camp, several people stood together and chatted.

Originally, everyone was still discussing the past of attacking Zhucheng in the past and a few days ago, but Hu Lun glanced at the camp, and then slowly spoke: "Your Highness, it doesn't seem to be the prince......

The words "......" were spoken, and everyone fell silent instantly.

That's right, Zhu Gaoxu is not the prince, so what will happen after they conquer the capital?

"Isn't it easy?" After all, Ta Lost is a Haixi Jurchen, and he does not have the moral sense of Meng Zhang, a group of Han fathers, sons, monarchs, ministers, and ministers, he said directly: "Just let His Royal Highness be the emperor!" ”

"That's not the case...... Meng Zhang and the others shook their heads when they heard this, but Ta Shi was puzzled:

"The capital we have conquered, and we don't let His Royal Highness be the emperor, so who will?"

"His Royal Highness still has a father, and His Royal Highness King Yan." Xu Sheng opened his mouth to Ta Lost, but Ta Lost's eyes widened:

"The capital we have conquered, what is the matter with His Royal Highness and his father......"

"You are a brute, how can you have a son and a father?"

"Father and son, have you forgotten?"

"Are you going to harm Your Highness unfilial?"

"Be quiet." Meng Zhang and the others were taken aback by Ta Lost's speech, and hurriedly stopped the loud Jurchen before he spoke:

"This matter, a few of us can't be the master, wait until Yizhangyin, Sun Changshi, Zhu Dudu and Wang Du command them all to the capital."

"At the moment, instead of worrying about this, it is better to worry about how to deal with that emperor after taking the capital."

"That's easy!" Hearing Meng Zhang say this, Xu Sheng, who was still a little weak about the relationship between Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu, immediately became ruthless.

"No matter who sees him, find a way to clean it up, and don't let him cloudy His Highness's eyes."

"Good!"

"This one can be!"

Xu Sheng's suggestion won everyone's approval, and at the same time, the voice of "His Highness Chitose" was heard from the barracks.

Meng Zhang rubbed his cold hands and said to these people: "Remember the agreement just now, don't be soft-hearted and make it difficult for Your Highness." ”

"Don't worry!" Xu Sheng and the others nodded frequently, and Zhu Gaoxu's voice also came from the camp gate.

"Meng Zhang, what are you guys nagging about?"

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the few people standing on the side of the road suspiciously, and Meng Zhang and they hurriedly laughed when they heard this: "Your Highness, we are talking about women in Jiangnan, and Ta Yu said that he wants a woman from Jiangnan to be his daughter-in-law." ”

"I haven't seen the Huai River, so you want to go to Jiangnan." Zhu Gaoxu laughed out loud and beckoned at the same time:

"Ready, ready, you can pull the camp and go south!"

"Bohai Chronicle": "In March, Jihai, he led 6,000 horsemen to Xincheng to provoke, when Jinglong heard that Taizong broke the enemy in Yang Qingshui, left Li Jian to confuse Shang, rotated to aid Baigou River, Shangwen Jinglong withdrew, and ordered the army to gather in Zhucheng. ”

"Ming Shizong Record": "In March, he led 3,000 horsemen to fight with Jinglong, Jinglong was afraid and avoided the battle, and withdrew to the north of the Qing River. ”

"When I heard that Jinglong was leaving, I said to the generals: 'Jinglong is going and is cowardly, and Huaisi has no one', so he waved his army south, pulled out the cities, and the troops arrived in Zhili."

(End of chapter)