"Let them go?"

On the 24th day of the winter month, the tenth day of the Ming army's entry into Annan, when Fu Rang had just received Mu Chun's handwritten letter, he couldn't help but look at his south.

To his south, the castle of Keihoku was now in flames, the walls were in tatters, and the gates were blown open.

Not far away, tens of thousands of people were covering the lower half of their faces with coarse cloth and throwing the corpses of Vietnamese soldiers into the Bac River.

Obviously, Mu Chun's messenger came late.

"Guogong said that if Jingbei has been broken, then there is no need to abide by it."

Baihu Guan was also complaining, he had already hurried over, but he didn't want the offensive of the Eastern Route Army to be so rapid, and even Jingbei was broken.

"Old man!"

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves and shouts sounded, and Lin Su, who was familiar with him, turned over and dismounted.

Lin Su, who didn't know what was going on here, trotted all the way and said to Fu Rangzuo: "The Vietnamese troops in Duobang City have withdrawn, and the Jinyi Guards and Xichang brothers in Thang Long City have also sent people to deliver a message, saying that Hu Hancang has withdrawn to Xinghua with 1,000 guards in Shenglong and 5,000 people in Duobang City. ”

"Escaped to Xinghua?" Fu Rang frowned, and then said to the hundred household officers of the Western Route Army:

"You rest for the night, and bring this news to the Duke of Qianguo tomorrow morning, and ask him to lead the army to join me in Thang Long City."

Fu Rang changed the original meeting place from Duobang City to Thang Long City, which caught the hundred household officials off guard, but he still responded after reacting: "Yes!" ”

The hundred household officials were taken away by Zhang Fu on the side, and Fu Rang also took the news handed over by Lin Su, and closed it after reading it clearly at a glance.

"We have to hurry, if that group of powerful soldiers and horses knew that Hu Hancang abandoned the Shenglong, I am afraid they would enter the Shenglong before us."

"You lead two thousand cavalry to take over Thang Long." Fu Rang heard the words without thinking, and at the same time said to Zhang Fu beside him:

"Leave 4,000 people to garrison Jingbei and Duobang respectively, and we will take the remaining 8,000 people to attack Shenglong City!"

"The last general commands." Zhang Fu returned the salute, and Lin Su also took the opportunity to take the troop transfer card, and dispatched the 2,000 cavalry of the Eastern Route Army to go straight to Shenglong City.

When Lin Su went south, Zhang Fu also began to gather troops and horses to garrison and take over the counties in northern Beijing, and at the same time led troops south with Fu Rang.

Thirty miles is not a long distance, and the only thing that stumbles them is crossing the Red River.

Therefore, the Eastern Route Army delayed for a full day in crossing the river before taking all the more than 8,000 people across the Red River and arriving at Thang Long City, which was taken over by Lin Su.

Shenglong was founded in the early Tang Dynasty as Songping County under the jurisdiction of the Jiaozhou Governor's Office of the Tang Dynasty, and was the political, economic and cultural center of the northern part of Jiaozhou at that time.

After independence from the Tang Dynasty at the end of the Tang Dynasty, three dynasties successively set this place as the capital, and now it has a history of nearly 800 years.

As the former capital of the Great Viet Kingdom, Thang Long City is not as prosperous as Nanjing, but it is second to none on the Indochina Peninsula.

Therefore, when Fu Rang and Zhang Fu came to the outside of Thang Long City, in front of them was a city with a perimeter of several miles and an exotic feeling.

Because it was born in the Central Plains, many of the design concepts of Thang Long City coincide with the Central Plains, and the entire city is divided into multiple parts, such as the Forbidden City, the Imperial City, the Capital City, the Inner City and the Outer City, which are no different from the Central Plains.

"The army is coming into the city."

Fu Rang explained, and waited for the Ming army to lead the city and completely take over Thang Long City.

After confirming that it was safe, Fu Rang and Zhang Fu entered Thang Long City under the escort of many soldiers.

The flat rice fields outside Thang Long City are densely packed, and rice still exists even in the winter months.

After entering Thang Long City, its outer city is not as wide as Nanjing City, but a living area composed of houses and streets.

Along the brick and stone royal road to the capital, along the way, Fu let them see such as leather shops, copper shops, cotton shops, sugar shops, hemp shops, peach shops, sail shops and other trading houses.

Although the war broke out, after the Ming army took over Thang Long City, these merchants dared to open their doors to do business.

Fu Rang entered the inner city without staying too long, and did not stay too long, but went straight to the imperial city.

It has to be said that although Annam is located on the Indochina Peninsula, the kings who lived here enjoyed it very much.

Within the imperial city, the gardens of the Imperial Garden are beautiful, the pavilions and halls are resplendent with gold, and you can see towering pagodas and temples from time to time.

They saw Lin Su, who had been waiting for a long time, on the imperial road in the imperial city, and there was a bunch of soldiers standing beside Lin Su, holding many books in their hands.

Seeing this, Fu Rang stepped forward, then turned over and dismounted, stepped forward and asked, "How?" ”

"Hu Hancang left in a hurry, and many things were not taken with him, including many of Annan's "National Records."

Lin Su explained, and took out a copy and handed it to Fu Rang and Zhang Fu for the two to read.

"There are 170,000 people living in this Shenglong City, but many dignitaries and dignitaries have fled to Xinghua with their families, and how many people are left will have to wait for the officials over there in Qinzhou to take over Annan."

"However, according to Annan's "National Register", there are at least 600,000 households, 3 million people, more than 14.6 million mu of cultivated land, and 32,000 ...... of cattle."

Lin Su reported everything, but Fu Rang only noticed the population and arable land.

After hearing this, he sighed: "I looked through the history books before, this Annan in the Tang Dynasty was only a few hundred thousand, more than a million acres, and now more than 400 years later, it is really shocking to develop like this." ”

Fu Rang was indeed shocked, but he was surprised that Annan was so rich.

You must know that the total cultivated land of the two Guangxi is only more than 17 million mu, and the total can surpass that of Annam.

I am afraid that only six or seven out of ten people will survive this war in Annam, and if we cannot resettle in time, it will be inevitable that a large area will be abandoned.

Fu Rang went south all the way to see the North Yue Plain clearly, as long as there are people, tens of millions of acres of cultivated land can be reclaimed here, and the conditions are much better than those of Liangguang.

After seeing this, he understood Zhu Gaoxu's thoughts.

If Annam's local problems are not dealt with quickly, even if immigrants come to enrich Annam, they will be quickly assimilated by Annam.

On the contrary, if the problem of Annam itself is solved, the 300,000 coastal males can achieve the assimilation effect of 600,000, because the women are all in the husband's family.

Thinking of this, Fu Rang began to think about whether to attack Shenglong.

Just after thinking about it, he still gave up this idea, because Thang Long City is a benchmark, if Thang Long City is in war, then all places will follow Jian Ding and others to uncover the rod because of fear.

"Is there any news from the east?"

Fu Rang asked Lin Su, and Lin Su also bowed his head when he saw this: "There is news from the east and south. ”

"Jian Ding and others in the east have appeased the thief army of many states and counties, and now they have occupied twenty-four counties, with more than 10,000 soldiers and horses."

"The south is good news, Yang Zhan broke through Jianxing and went all the way north to recover a large number of prefectures and counties, and Zheng He also led his soldiers and horses all the way south to prepare to recover the South Fifth Road."

"A rough calculation, among the 168 counties in Annan Province, at least 69 counties are in our hands, and there are still many cities in our plan, and it is estimated that we can take them within half a month."

After Lin Su finished speaking, Zhang Fu on the side also said after reading the booklet:

"Hu Jichen went to Xinghua in the west and firmly controlled the twelve counties, and the remaining twenty-four counties were in their hands."

"In this way, in half a month, the number of cities in our hands can reach one hundred and thirty-two."

After Zhang Fucai finished speaking, Fu Rang shook his head and said: "The number of cities in your hands does not mean that you must be strong, don't forget that we are outsiders." ”

"Besides, Jian Ding and Hu Jichen will not stand still, I estimate that we will have at most one hundred and twenty counties in our hands in the end."

Fu Rang's words reminded the two that they were always outsiders, and the cost of managing Annan would be much higher than that of Annan's local forces.

These counties will greatly restrain their energy, for example, their troops are getting smaller and smaller as they continue to advance southward.

Of the 30,000 troops, only 10,000 have managed to reach Thang Long City, and the remaining 20,000 have been pinned down to the local governance north of the Red River.

Because of this, Fu Rangcai did not rush to attack Hu Jichen in Xinghua, after all, he didn't know if that group of people would come to attack the weak point of the Ming army after he led his troops out of Shenglong to attack Hu Jichen.

Only by waiting until they join forces with Yang Zhan and Mu Chun can they make a final decision with the local forces of Jian Ding and Hu Jichen.

Thinking of this, Fu Rang also began to focus on stabilizing the rear, and the news about the situation in Annan was also briefly transmitted to the capital through the flying pigeon biography.

When the news reached the capital, it was already the thirtieth day of the winter month.

"I hit Shenglong in ten days, although Fu Rang's ability is not as good as Ying Guogong, but it is enough to defend one side, but Mu Chun is still sophisticated."

In the cold winter, when the cold wind shuttled through the streets and alleys, the fire path in the Wuying Hall also added baskets of coal.

Zhu Di held the contents of the note that had been copied by the eunuchs on the note, and sitting in front of him were Yu Xin, the head of the household department, and Zhu Gaoxu, who had returned to the outer court for more than half a month.

"The situation in Annan is indeed complicated, and it is somewhat unexpected for Jian Ding and other local heroes to support the descendants of the Chen family."

Facing Zhu Di's words, Zhu Gaoxu also commented slightly, but he was a little surprised in his heart.

He remembered the uprising of this group of local heroes, but he remembered that this group of people decided to revolt and rebel after the main force of the Ming army retreated and decided not to support the Chen clan.

Now it seems that it may be the policies that he let Mu Chun and others implement that made them smell different, so they will come forward in advance.

But it doesn't matter, in the face of hard power, all the rich and powerful are paper tigers.

"The migration of Annan can be on the agenda, but the first thing to do is to transfer the waiting officials from Qinzhou to go."

Zhu Di put down the song and said according to his own thoughts: "Now many places in northern Vietnam are empty due to the war, and only by quickly relocating people to settle in the local area can the land not be abandoned." ”

As he spoke, he set his eyes on Zhu Gaoxu, to which Zhu Gaochu also replied: "The horse ships that went to the West have begun to transport the people, and the three thousand officials of the tax department have been investigating in Fujian for more than half a year, and there are 30,000 people involved. ”

"These 30,000 people can be directly dispatched to Annan to fill the army, and set up 30,000 households to enrich the two towns of Haiyang and Taiyuan."

"In addition, the propaganda of the people of Fujian and Guangdong provinces was also carried out early, and I believe that as soon as the imperial court opens its mouth, a large number of people will take the initiative to migrate to Annam."

Zhu Gaoxu said about the various backhands he had been preparing since the beginning of the year, and at the same time his eyes were on Yu Xin's face who was sitting opposite him.

"To accomplish these things, money and food are still indispensable."

"The gold, silver and copper coins seized by Annan are no less than 500,000 yuan, and the grain is 860,000 stones, which is enough to cope with more than half a year."

"However, after more than half a year, the war may not subside, and the taxes may not be collected, so I am afraid that we will have to transfer grain from Guangdong to Annam to maintain the army to quell the rebellion."

Yu Xin only listened to half of it, and then he knew what His Royal Highness wanted to say, so he said:

"The taxes of Guangdong Juntun and Mintian have been paid, and they can be used by the imperial court to mobilize 750,000 stones."

"Seven hundred and fifty thousand stone ......" Zhu Gaoxu calculated a little, and then nodded: "It's enough." ”

"Alright." Zhu Di got up and walked, and Zhu Gaoxu and Yu Xin also got up one after another when they saw this.

Zhu Di walked to the dragon case, holding the dragon case with one hand and supporting his waist with the other.

"The matter of Annan is to suppress it slowly, Hu Jichen of Xinghua will not care about him for the time being, what he has to do now is to find out the Chen Dynasty clan and solve it, and in addition, to expose the identity of Chen Jikuo who was supported by Jian Ding's group of people."

"Zheng He also wrote to me, and the people of Annam are not very welcoming to the official army."

"That's true in the south, let alone in the north."

"I know that the household department has money, so I am going to set up twenty-two health centers in Annam."

Maybe he has enough money, or he has learned more information about Annan through integration, in short, Zhu Di's hand this time is far greater than in history.

If Zhu Gaoxu is not mistaken, Zhu Di also set up eleven guards in history, and only more than 20,000 soldiers can be pulled.

Because of this, once Cochin loses its famous general, there is no way to encircle and suppress the rebels alone.

Today's Ming Dynasty has born and retained many famous generals, but no matter how many famous generals there are, it is not enough to have enough soldiers and horses.

If Cochin really has twenty-two guards, then the troops in the hands of Cochin will indeed be abundant.

"Father is wise." After thinking about it, Zhu Gaoxu followed suit to express his support.

Seeing this, Yu Xin couldn't resist the father and son of the Heavenly Family, so he could only give a return salute: "Dare to ask Your Majesty, how should the Tuntian and Yulu of these twenty-two guards be distributed?" ”

"Each tun army cultivates fifty acres of military tun, half of the income is kept for himself, half is handed over to the reserve warehouse of the guard, and another twelve stone military salary is issued as a salary."

Zhu Di restructured the guard house left by Lao Zhu and retained the original 12-stone military salary.

In this way, the life of the Jiaozhi Tun army was not too bad, and they also had the motivation to suppress the rebellion.

Zhu Gaoxu did not object after hearing this, but bowed his head to Yu Xin.

Seeing this, Yu Xin could only sigh and take the errand.

"After the discussion in the south, I have to talk about the north."

After paving the way, Zhu Di finally said what he cared about.

His gaze swirled around Zhu Gaoxu and Yu Xin, and then he spoke: "The original 36,000 people will not be changed, and you can help me calculate it clearly." ”

"For this northern expedition, I am going to set off for (Beijing) in March, and then arrive in Quanningwei in May to personally conquer Wuliangha Zhuwei."

After saying this, he looked at the two of them and saw that they had no opinions, so Zhu Di nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, you can retreat." ”

got what he wanted, Zhu Di was also happy, and this happiness said to Zhu Gaoxu: "Let Yishaha send Zhan Yan a little, I haven't seen him for two days." ”

"Yes......" Zhu Gaoxu was helpless, only feeling that he gave birth to this son not for himself, but for Zhu Di.

As a confession and withdrew from the Wuying Palace, Zhu Gaoxu and Yu Xin walked across the Sanlong Bridge one after the other.

Before going to the golden bridle, Zhu Gaoxu stopped and asked Yu Xin: "When will this year's "Yellow Book" and "Fish Scale Atlas" be counted." ”

"Back to Your Highness, roughly the fifth day of the lunar month." Yu Xin responded calmly.

"Okay." After answering, Zhu Gaoxu put on the golden bridle, and Yu Xin also watched his golden chariot gradually walk away under the escort.

Looking at the golden chariot that was walking away, Yu Xin glanced back at Wuying Palace, and couldn't help sighing: "These two are not good to serve." ”

As soon as the words fell, he also walked out of the palace and returned to his household to deal with the matter clearly.

Not long after, Zhu Gaoxu, who was separated from him, took the lead in returning to the Chunhe Palace, and saw Guo Yan holding a small figure.

"Your Highness is back."

When Guo Yan heard the familiar footsteps, she immediately looked up with a smile on her face, and sure enough, she saw Zhu Gaoxu walking towards her.

Zhu Gaoxu walked up to her with a smile, looked down at Zhu Zhanyan, who had grown a little longer, and said with a smile: "This kid can eat, but yours still have to help him restrain himself." ”

"If he doesn't give him food, he will cry, and the concubine can't help it." Guo Yan couldn't cry or laugh.

"That's right, when he cries, the whole East Palace can hear it, and his voice is quite loud."

Zhu Gaoxu took Zhu Zhanyan from Guo Yan's hand, hugged him for a circle, and almost got out of his hand halfway, which frightened Guo Yan and hurriedly stepped forward.

"Haha, it's okay, it's okay......"

Zhu Gaoxu himself also broke out in a cold sweat, but after stabilizing himself, he still smiled heartily, and at the same time stretched out his hand and pinched Zhu Zhanyu's face.

Zhu Zhanyan was not frightened by his cheap father, but stared wide-eyed and smiled, as if he felt that the experience just now was very exciting and interesting.

"It's better for the concubine to hug it."

Guo Yan was frightened by the father and son, and hurriedly took over Zhu Zhanyan from Zhu Gaoxu's hands.

Zhu Gaoxu also honestly handed over the child to her, and at the same time remembered that Zhu Di wanted to hold the child.

"By the way, Dad said that he would send Zhan Yan to Wuying Hall to meet him, maybe he wanted to hug his grandson, so let the female officials take him over a little."

"Okay." Guo Yan hugged Zhu Zhanyan, and his eyes were on him.

She is relieved that Zhu Di wants to hold a child, Zhu Di is quite experienced in holding a child, unlike Zhu Gaochu who always has problems.

"Second brother! Second brother! ”

The husband and wife discussed the matter of the child going to the Wuying Palace, and they heard a noise from outside the hall.

"Here we go again."

Zhu Gaoxu had a slight headache, and Guo Yan also looked at him playfully when he saw this and smiled: "Your Highness should deal with it yourself, the concubine will go to arrange the affairs of Zhan Yan first." ”

As soon as the words fell, she left the Chunhe Hall with Zhu Zhanyu in her arms, and when she went out of the palace, she also met Zhu Gaosui who came to find Zhu Gaoxu.

"Second sister-in-law."

"Your second brother is inside, go look for him."

"Huh!"

The voices of the uncle and sister-in-law at the palace gate were heard clearly by Zhu Gaoxu, and he had no choice but to walk back to his place and sit down, and then saw Zhu Gaosui who walked in.

"What are you doing here?"

Zhu Gaoxu picked up the teacup and took a sip, but Zhu Gaosui sat directly on the chair without any manners, leaned on the chair and said, "I'm about to settle for the domain, I want to come to you to ask for something." ”

"There are so many people in the palace, and my father didn't give you any less golden beans, why did you come to me?" Zhu Gaochu put down the teacup and gave Zhu Gaosui a preventive shot:

"Let me tell you, this inner and outer court belongs to me as the poorest in the East Palace, and you will talk about it after you think about it."

"Second brother, don't fool me." Zhu Gaosui played a scoundrel: "Who doesn't know in this capital, the East Palace is very frugal, and the money can't be spent." ”

"Anyway, you and your second sister-in-law don't spend much money, so you might as well bring me Changsha flowers."

Since entering the big teaching field and walking out, Zhu Gaosui has understood one thing.

As long as he doesn't break the law and doesn't want to threaten his second brother's position, then his life is still very nourishing, and they are willing to give whatever they want.

"Stop." Zhu Gaoxu had a headache when he heard it, he was thrifty because he was used to eating delicacies from the mountains and seas, and he wanted to eat something simple, but this didn't mean that he really didn't spend money.

Let's not mention the West Factory, just talk about the Jurchen Bawei and the Bohai Han soldiers, who led the generals and led the officers to marry wives and children, and buy houses, these days Zhu Gaoxu has to ask people to give a gift list to take care of his old brothers.

Although there is a lot of money in the East Palace, it can't stand the Bohai brothers more, and the East Palace has to give out hundreds of copies a year just for the gift list.

"I will give you a gift list of 2,000 yuan, which can be regarded as a celebration of your housewarming, and there can't be more."

After all, they are brothers, and Zhu Gaoxu is not good at acting too shabby.

"Second Brother Xie, Prince Xie, I'll give you a knock first!"

After Zhu Gaosui came out of the big teaching field, he was faceless and skinless, and he actually kowtowed to Zhu Gaochu in public, and Zhu Gaochu was stunned.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly, and immediately waved his hand: "If you have nothing to do, go back to accompany your brother and sister, I have to deal with it." ”

"Brother quit!" Zhu Gaosui didn't stay after taking the benefits, and walked out of the Chunhe Hall happily.

As soon as he left, Zhu Gaoxu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and finally picked up the music and processed a few copies, but he heard the salute singing outside: "His Royal Highness the King of Han asks to see ......"

"Xuan!" Zhu Gaoxu is really convinced, either the two brothers will not come, or they will come back and forth as soon as they come, and this is not how they fight the autumn breeze.

Before he could finish his thoughts, he saw a head sticking out of the temple door, looking left and right, as if he were a thief.

"Big brother, what are you doing here?"

Zhu Gaochu looked at Zhu Gaochi suspiciously, Zhu Gaochi saw that there was no one inside, so he dusted off his sleeves and walked to the side hall of the Chunhe Hall and waved at Zhu Gaochu: "Second, the third didn't come to you, right?" ”

"Just left." Zhu Gaochu leaned back on the chair helplessly, Zhu Gaochi was anxious when he heard it, and hurriedly asked: "I heard that he asked for money from relatives one by one in the capital, didn't he come to you?" ”

"Just gave the gift list." Zhu Gaoxu had no choice but to cover his forehead with his hand, but he didn't expect Zhu Gaosui to have no face and no skin to this point.

"How much was given?!" Zhu Gaochi is like a cat whose tail has been stepped on.

"Two thousand." Zhu Gaochu looked at Zhu Gaochi in surprise, not knowing why he asked this question.

"Two thousand kans?!" Zhu Gaochi shouted out in a lost voice, and then said with a crying voice:

"Second child, second child, you give so much, then how much do I have to give him as the boss?"

"Won't you give 200 more guan?" Zhu Gaochu looked at Zhu Gaochi and didn't understand what trick he was playing.

"Two thousand two hundred?"

Zhu Gaochi said the amount, and then spread his hands: "Even if you chop me into meat and sell it as a bear's paw, you can't sell it for this price." ”

"Your sister-in-law is in charge of all the money in the house, and I can't touch ...... at all," he said, sitting down in his chair, and then seemed to think of something:

"Otherwise, you can lend me this money, and I will pay you back after I am vassal."

"Huh?" Zhu Gaoxu understood, and the co-authors all came to him to ask for money.

"Dad's private house has a lot of money, you go to him and ask for it."

"How can Dad compare to you?" Zhu Gaochi raised his voice when he heard this, and then whispered: "I heard that there are several new coinage furnaces opened in the household department, and each furnace will send you a box here, you ......."

"Who did you listen to?" Zhu Gaochu stood up, but Zhu Gaochi spread his hands: "It's all spread like this in the capital." ”

"Fuck it!"

Zhu Gaoxu scolded, and then said to the eunuch beside him: "Let Yishaha go to find someone to ask clearly, to see who slandered me." ”

"The slave and maid receive the order...... the eunuch responded, and withdrew from the palace to spread the word.

Watching him leave, Zhu Gaoxu said: "There is not much money left in the East Palace, I will give you one thousand and five for these two thousand two hundred yuan." ”

"Take care of it, ...... it" Zhu Gaochi nodded frequently: "It has to be you, see the truth in adversity." ”

"Now that the matter is settled, then I'll go back to take a nap first, and you deal with the music first."

Zhu Gaochi said, glanced at the mountain of songs, and sighed a few times, which made Zhu Gaochu very defenseless.

Looking at his brisk appearance when he walked out of the Chunhe Palace, Zhu Gaoxu glanced at the pile of songs, and couldn't help but feel a little unbalanced in his heart.

"Why is Lao Tzu so tired?"

"Ming Taizong Record": "At the end of the winter month, Yuancheng burned Xuanguang and the two cities of Jingbei and escaped, and the people of the two cities died eight or nine times out of ten. ”

"Southern Expedition": "At the end of the month, the thieves burned Hu Yuancheng to Xuanguang, and Xuanguang was empty. I also heard that the thieves in northern Beijing drove the people to defend the city, and stormed it for three days, the city was broken, and the officers and soldiers sent troops to organize households, and the people of northern Beijing did not survive. ”

(End of chapter)