Han Du immediately fell silent and looked at An Qing quietly for a while.
"What, what's wrong?" An Qing asked in confusion.
Han Du said calmly: "The sword has no eyes on the battlefield. I am not sure that I can escape unscathed. How do you expect me to save his life?"
Zhu Yunwen did such a thing in history. Many people attributed Zhu Yunwen's defeat to his words: "Today, you and other soldiers are facing off against the King of Yan. You must also take this into consideration, so as not to bear the name of killing your uncle." On.
But Han Du believed that the real meaning of this sentence was that Zhu Di could not be killed by Zhu Yunwen himself. Therefore, Zhu Di could die on the battlefield or commit suicide, but he could not be captured and taken back to Nanjing, where Zhu Yunwen would personally order his execution.
The generals also knew this very well, so Zhu Di did not enter and exit the battlefield like Zhao Zilong because of Emperor Jianwen's order, but instead almost died many times.
The vanguard general Ping An once rushed into the Yan army's formation, attacked Zhu Di with a horse spear, and almost stabbed him; the governor Qu Neng chased Zhu Di, but also almost hit him with a machete. Qu Neng's son Qu Yu shot an arrow into Zhu Di's helmet; the Jinan defender Tie Xuan pretended to surrender and trapped Zhu Di in the urn city with a thousand-jin gate, and then ordered the crossbowmen to fire a volley. If the guards had not fought to protect him, Zhu Di would have been shot into a hedgehog.
Only Li Jinglong took the order "Don't let me have the reputation of killing my uncle" seriously, and ordered not to harm King Zhu Di of Yan.
From then on, Zhu Di began to act like a god, and even led more than a dozen cavalry to spy on Li Jinglong's camp. After being discovered, no one dared to attack. The army watched Zhu Di leave, and not even one person fired an arrow.
Of course, since Li Jinglong later opened the Jinchuan Gate and allowed Zhu Di to enter the city without any troops, it was really difficult to guess Li Jinglong's position.
Jinling City was built by Lao Zhu with painstaking efforts throughout his life. It is absolutely the strongest city in the world.
The city of Beiping has been in disrepair for a long time, yet even Li Jinglong's army of 500,000 failed to break through!
If Li Jinglong hadn't secretly opened the Jinchuan Gate, Zhu Di might not have been able to break through Jinling.
When An Qing heard Han Du's words, he instantly became panicked. On one side was her husband, on the other was her fourth brother, with flesh on the palms and backs of her hands. Of course she hoped that both of them would be safe, but the war pushed the two of them to the opposite side.
"I, I..." An Qing lowered his head in pain.
Han Du stretched out his hand to hold her in his arms and comforted her softly: "Don't worry, since he has chosen this path, he will be prepared for any outcome."
...
Although Zhu Biao was well prepared and had all the food, grass and weapons ready, it still took ten days for the army to go on the expedition.
On this day, Zhu Biao led hundreds of officials to the stage to worship Han Du as general and went north to suppress the rebellion.
The army crossed the Yangtze River and went north along the Grand Canal to Xuzhou.
As soon as he arrived in Xuzhou, Han Du ordered the Grand Canal to be blocked. Sunken ships, debris, sandbags... everything that could be thrown into the canal was thrown in, blocking the canal for hundreds of meters and blocking it tightly.
Entering Xuzhou City, Han Du stood on the city wall and looked around.
He smiled and said to Geng Bingwen: "What a throat of the North and the key to the capital. Today we have seen it. The reputation of Changxing Marquis for being good at guarding is well-known throughout the world. This will help the defense of Xuzhou City."
"Your Majesty, you're welcome. General, please take your orders!" Geng Bingwen's face showed neither joy nor sadness.
Han Du nodded, knowing that Geng Bingwen was not good at words by nature. But it doesn't matter, it's not a war of words, as long as Geng Bingwen can defend Xuzhou City.
[In view of the general environment,
Han Du is also full of confidence in Geng Bingwen. Based on his past record, he can rest easy when handing over Xuzhou City to Geng Bingwen.
Han Du would not let Geng Bingwen lead an attack. He was good at defense and not good at offense. They were two extremes. He would be much more capable than Geng Bingwen in handling the offensive matters himself.
Cannons were moved to the top of the city one after another. Han Du only glanced at the busy Geng Bingwen and walked down the city wall calmly.
Geng Bingwen is a master in guarding the city. He doesn't need to make any suggestions at all. Perhaps his suggestions will hinder Geng Bingwen's arrangements.
...
Zhu Di arrived at Jinan City. After resting here for a day, he immediately led his army southward.
"Where is that in front?" Zhu Di was riding on horseback, followed by Feng Sheng and Monk Dao Yan.
"Your Majesty, we are in Peixian County ahead. At this speed, your Majesty will be able to attack the capital city in less than half a month!" Monk Daoyan replied with a congratulatory smile.
Zhu Di was not as happy as him, but felt uneasy in his heart.
Feng Sheng's face also turned dark, and he opened his mouth and sighed: "Your Majesty, behind Pei County is Xuzhou. I'm worried that the imperial court will stop us in Xuzhou."
"Hahaha, so what if the court blocks it?" Monk Daoyan dismissed it at all, "It's not like we haven't encountered blockage these days, and the result is like a mob. Vulnerable."
Feng Sheng looked like an idiot and said in a deep voice: "You don't think that the imperial court is really so vulnerable, do you? The smoother our journey goes, the more it means that the imperial court has gathered its forces and is preparing to fight with us. It’s a decisive battle!”
"That's not necessarily true, right? Even if the court wanted to have a decisive battle with the prince, why did it choose Xuzhou?" Dao Yan didn't think there were other possibilities, but he just didn't want to see Feng Sheng continue to perform meritorious service in front of Zhu Di.
If this continues, Zhu Di will trust Feng Sheng even more. How can he still have the position of monk Daoyan?
Zhu Di knew that the two were at odds, but he never said anything to stop them. In his opinion, it was precisely because of the discord between the two that it was more conducive for him to control them.
But now that the war with the imperial court is imminent, he needs the two of them to work together.
Then he opened his mouth to ease the tension between the two: "Xuzhou is the throat of Jiangdong. If Xuzhou is lost, Jinling will no longer be able to defend. Therefore, the imperial court will not give up Xuzhou no matter what."
Seeing that the two of them were no longer targeting each other, Zhu Di said again: "If it is true or not, send someone to find out."
"Come here! Send a detective horse to Xuzhou to find out the situation."
Han Du didn't even try to hide it at all, and directly hung the handsome flag at the top of Xuzhou City.
Therefore, Yan Jun's detective horse quickly discovered the situation in Xuzhou City and quickly went back to report to Zhu Di.
"Report, the flags are fluttering at the top of Xuzhou City, and a large army is stationed!"
Zhu Di's face turned dark. Hearing the worst news, it was strange that he was in a good mood.
"Can you see who is guarding it?"
"Prince Zhenguo, Han Du!"
Zhu Di's face turned darker and he took a long breath before calming down.
"What else did you find?"
"Back to my lord, the canal is blocked and our ship can't pass."
"What? The canal is blocked? What's going on?" Zhu Di was more concerned about the blocked canal than the news about Han Du in Xuzhou.
If he couldn't take the canal, then he would have no way to reach the capital quickly.
"Can it be unclogged?"
"Impossible!" The captain who came to report shook his head vigorously. "It has been blocked for dozens of feet with debris. It is completely blocked by water. If we want to clear it, we have to dig another river to divert the water away."
"Let's go, take this king to see." Zhu Di's face was extremely ugly.
Feng Sheng and Monk Dao Yan also looked bad, and quickly rode their horses to follow.
Zhu Di came to the blocked place and saw that a long section was tightly blocked. He didn't speak for a long time.
"Han Du! I and you are incompatible with each other!" Zhu Di yelled feebly at the debris filling the canal.
He turned his horse's head and turned away.
It is impossible to dredge this canal in a short time, and it is useless for Zhu Di to stay here. Moreover, this place is not far from Xuzhou City, and Han Du will not let him unblock the canal with peace of mind.
...
Han Du stood on the top of the city and clearly saw a large number of Yan troops surrounding Xuzhou City through his telescope. Not only was there no worry at all, but
A smile appeared on his face.
"Marquis Changxing, what happens next is up to you."
"Don't worry, Duke Zhen. If the Yan thieves want to pass through Xuzhou City, they have to step over the corpse of the general!" Geng Bingwen said lightly. He was indeed qualified to despise Zhu Di.
Zhudi glanced at the "Han" flag flying high on the city top, and then looked at the river and hilltop in front of him, feeling a deep sense of helplessness. filled his mind.
He took a deep breath and sighed: "What does Song Guogong think?"
Feng Sheng pondered for a moment and sighed: "Xuzhou has been easy to defend but difficult to attack since ancient times. It may not be easy to break this city!"
Of course Zhu Di knew it was not easy, otherwise he wouldn't feel so powerless.
"I would like to ask Duke Song, is there any way to attack this city?"
"There is no way." Feng Sheng sighed: "Xuzhou has fought hundreds of large and small battles for thousands of years, and all conceivable solutions have been thought of by predecessors."
Feng Sheng didn't say something directly. If he wanted to conquer Xuzhou City, he could only fill it with human lives inch by inch.
Of course Zhu Di also knew that this was the only way, but he was unwilling to do so. Although he has 600,000 troops under his command, he is known as one million.
But even if Xuzhou City is breached, he is not sure how many troops will be left.
If the losses here are too great, what will he do to attack Jinling?
As for avoiding Xuzhou City and attacking Jinling directly, Zhu Di did not consider it at all. He knew that if that happened, Han Du would definitely pursue him and kill him.
Zhu Di ordered: "Come here, continue to inquire, and be sure to find out the situation in Xuzhou City for me."
That night, Zhu Di got the general situation of Xuzhou City.
"Coach Han Du, deputy generals Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying... Xuzhou City has 300,000 troops stationed in it, and is fully stocked with food, grass and weapons..."
When Zhu Di got the news, his heart couldn't help sinking. He even preferred not to know the news, so that maybe his heart would feel better.
Not only Zhu Di, but also everyone else looked concerned.
Geng Bingwen's reputation for being good at defense shocked the world, and now he came to guard a strong city like Xuzhou. It is simply impossible to break through.
"Isn't Geng Bingwen guarding Jiayuguan? How could he be called back?" Monk Daoyan had also heard of Geng Bingwen's famous name, and his tone was filled with dissatisfaction.
Feng Sheng glanced at him indifferently and snorted in his heart. He was so naive. He didn't care what time it was. Would Zhu Biao still leave the good general unused?
A lion fights a rabbit with all his strength, Zhu Biao would not commit such a stupid thing.
