"Drive! Drive!"
Under the night, horses holding torches galloped along the official road.
From Xincheng to Zhucheng, it is more than 350 miles in total.
This was the first night of their attack on the cities. They started on the road at midnight, and it was already getting slightly brighter.
After three and a half hours of driving, they retreated from Xincheng to Linzi and crossed the Zi River. Yidu County, where Qingzhou Prefecture is located, was only more than 40 miles away from them.
"After resting here for half an hour, we will continue on our way. We will arrive in Linqu before nightfall today."
Zhu Gaoxu reined up his horse and stopped everyone. Six thousand cavalrymen dismounted after hearing the sound. They did not care about drinking water themselves, so they first unloaded the armor and food from the horses, and at the same time fed water and beans to the army horses and the horses.
Each horse received one pound of beans and three pounds of water. After feeding them, they were left to find grass nearby.
After dismounting, Zhu Gaoxu looked at the slightly bright sky and put out the torch in his hand. Then he took out a few hard pancakes from his arms and took a few bites before swallowing them with water.
These things are not unpalatable to Zhu Gaoxu, but for many people who have never eaten thick flour food, they are definitely not delicious.
In this era when there was no finishing process and only stone mills were used to grind rice and wheat, many foods were very grainy and made your throat very uncomfortable to eat.
Of course, in this era, being able to eat three meals a day is already the greatest luxury for ordinary people.
Zhu Gaoxu felt the coarse grain cake in his mouth that he couldn't swallow, and then glanced at the soldiers sitting around to rest.
Even though they have been eating fine rice and wheat in Bohai for several years, they still enjoy this kind of coarse grain pancakes.
After all, before Zhu Gaoxu arrived in the Bohai Sea, most of them were Jurchen savages who had two meals a day and sometimes not enough to eat.
If it hadn't been for the arrival of Zhu Gaoxu, they might have had to live like that for the rest of their lives.
Their original purpose in fighting for Zhu Gaoxu was that they could not stand Zhu Gaoxu's harsh treatment by Zhu Yunqi and wanted to continue to live like this for the past few years.
Although they now eat coarse grain pancakes, they know that their families eat fine rice and wheat, and that is enough.
"Walk!"
After a short half-hour of rest, the sky began to brighten.
Although the sun had not yet risen, they had to continue on their way.
Time passed, and soon the news of the disappearance of the Bohai Navy outside Xincheng County was known to the defenders. The Xincheng County defender quickly sent people to send the news to Qingcheng County in the north.
By the time Li Jian got the news, it was already Chen time.
Li Jian reported the news to Li Jinglong and his companions heading north, but it was not until noon that Li Jinglong received the news.
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 troops in Qingcheng, Zhu Gaoxu could not march northwest to threaten Cangzhou and Dezhou.
Sheng Yong over there has arrived in Huai'an. Relying on the Huaihe River defense line, it is difficult for Zhu Gaoxu to survive for a while, so what he has to do is to seize the time to go north and force Zhu Di to withdraw to Peiping.
Li Jinglong thought well, but his actions were dissatisfactory.
"Go to the front of the formation and suddenly withdraw your troops..."
In the Wuying Palace in the capital, Zhu Yunwen, who was wearing the emperor's uniform, looked at the memorial in his hand, feeling angry in his heart that could not be released.
In the palace, Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai, Bao Zhao, and Fang Xiaoru stood in a row waiting for the emperor to speak, but what else could he say?
"Aren't Chen Hui and Teng Ju's Ganliang Jingqi riding across Ganliang and galloping across Qinghai?"
"How come you were defeated by Yan Shuren so easily?"
"Which beloved can tell me what is going on?"
"Why is it that the imperial court has fewer and fewer soldiers and horses, while the rebel army has more and more soldiers and horses, and its territory is getting larger and larger."
"Has the imperial court organized any decent war?"
Zhu Yunwen questioned the four people, and Huang Zicheng deliberately defended: "Your Majesty, Cao Guogong's worries are not unfounded. The Bohai Navy has the advantage of firearms and boats, and it can run back and forth at the speed of horses. The common people of the Bohai Sea are always smart and can easily march. It will inevitably lead to a stalemate in the war."
"Compared with this, it would be better to march north and fight Yan Ni at the Baigou River."
"The common people of Yan are the fathers of the common people of Bohai. If the father is in trouble, the son will save him. The common people of Bohai will definitely turn their troops and go to Peiping. This is the decisive battle that the court wants."
Huang Zicheng talked in a circle, but he didn't get to the point. Qi Tai, who couldn't listen anymore, could only stand up and said:
"Right now, Chen Hui and Teng Ju's elite cavalry have been captured by Yan Ni. With a little training, Yan Ni'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 one-man battle. Instead, it will be easy to be divided and attacked."
"Cao Guogong went north and asked the Marquis of Jiangyin and Governor Xu to lead the army to retreat south. He wanted to use the water network of Baigou River, Wugongdian and Sanjiaodian to restrict the Yan army's horse, infantry and cavalry."
"Although there are firearms in Bohai, Yan Ni does not."
"At that time, my 300,000-strong army will march north. We can attack the city with artillery, or we can press the army in. No matter what, there will be room."
"As for Shandong, Prince Consort Li has led 40,000 soldiers and horses to garrison Qingcheng, restricting the common people of Bohai from going to the northwest to join the common people of Yan. In the south, there are 40,000 garrison troops prepared by Sheng Yong and 20,000 elite soldiers in Beijing. There are enough Sixty thousand people.”
"Whether these 60,000 people go north to Xuzhou or stick to the Huaihe River, they will be able to advance and retreat easily. Your Majesty does not need to worry."
Qi Tai felt that he had said it clearly, but Zhu Yunwen heard it harshly.
"The bandit army has now occupied the Second Prefecture of Denglai, Shandong, and there is no one to stop them in Qingzhou Prefecture."
"I understand that Duke Cao Guo has 300,000 soldiers and horses but has yet to make any military exploits. It is difficult for the rebel army to deal with him. However, he has been in charge of the army for half a year without any merit. How do you think I should look at him?"
"And the common people of Bohai, only six thousand dare to confront our army of one hundred thousand. Even if the other three groups are included, there are only more than thirty thousand."
"With this small amount of troops, Cao Guogong was afraid and refused to move forward. Instead, he felt that the thirty or forty thousand Bohai common people were difficult to fight, while the hundreds of thousands of Yan common people were easy to fight."
"If he doesn't attack the common people in Bohai, is it possible that he has to wait until the common people in Bohai cross the Huaihe River, cross the Yangtze River, and reach the capital?!"
The more Zhu Yunwen talked, the more excited he became. The support he gave to Geng Bingwen and Li Jinglong can be said to be unprecedented and unprecedented.
Behind Li Jinglong's 300,000 troops were the millions of civilians he mobilized.
Dare I ask how many emperors throughout the ages have dared to make such arrangements?
He was like this, but he still couldn't hear a good news. How could he believe in this group of so-called 'famous generals'.
Thinking of this, he turned sideways and said with his back to the four of them: "I still say what I said. If you still can't achieve a great victory before the autumn comes, then let's leave the matter of suppressing the rebellion to others."
"I accept your orders..." The four of them bowed, but they had different ideas.
Huang Zicheng felt that Li Jinglong was not worthy of his reputation, while Fang Xiaoru and Bao Zhao were thinking about how to recommend their fellow countrymen and how to exempt them from taxes in the south of the Yangtze River.
Only Qi Tai frowned. He knew very well how much pressure Li Jinglong was under.
In terms of ability, Li Jinglong is not as good as Zhu Di. Zhu Di is the second generation leader left to the Ming Dynasty by Zhu Yuanzhang. Only Mu Ying, who has passed away, can compare.
Li Jinglong's dealing with Zhu Di was already a bit tricky, let alone dealing with Zhu Gaoxu who was personally trained by Feng Sheng and Fu Youde.
Everyone in the Qitaibi Hall knew how stressful it was to fight on two fronts with nearly 100,000 horse and infantry enemies in the plains.
But he knew better that the emperor couldn't wait any longer and his patience was limited.
If Li Jinglong still cannot create a great victory before autumn, then the emperor will really change his position.
"well……"
Qi Tai sighed deeply in his heart, and at the same time, Zhu Yunwen also asked:
"Is there any movement among Song Sheng, Qu Neng, and Muchun in mobilizing their troops?"
"Back to Your Majesty..." Huang Zicheng responded first: "The Governor of Song Dynasty is already summoning the troops of Ganliang. Governor Qu has just withdrawn to Dali, and the Marquis of Xiping is engaged in a decisive battle with Dao Qianmeng and cannot escape."
"Besides..." Huang Zicheng glanced at Zhu Yunwen secretly, and then said cautiously: "Some soldiers and horses in the Yunnan Dusi did not obey the orders of Marquis Xiping and have not gathered in Kunming for a long time."
After he finished speaking, Zhu Yunwen's face darkened.
He already knew almost everything the three Fu brothers did in Yunnan.
No wonder the fight in Yunnan took so long. It turned out that someone was holding Muchun and the others back.
Qu Neng went to Sichuan via Dali, probably because he was worried that Fu Mao from Kunming would hinder him.
If the imperial court had not been able to organize war in the southwest, Zhu Yunwen would have uprooted the Fu family's foundation in Yunnan at any cost.
"After this battle, let's see how I treat you..."
Zhu Yunwen narrowed his eyes and already thought about how to deal with the Fu family after the counter-rebellion was over.
"Your Majesty!" Fang Xiaoru suddenly spoke, as if to gain some sense of presence, he said specifically:
"Zhou Shuren's family has arrived in Chongqing and will soon enter Yunnan."
"I forgot about him." Zhu Yunwen suddenly remembered Zhu Rui who was exiled to Yunnan by him. If he was also causing trouble in Yunnan, the situation in Yunnan would be even more complicated.
"I ordered the Sichuan Dusi Yamen to escort the Zhou family back to Beijing."
Zhu Yunwen gave the order and continued to explain: "Let Qu Neng lead his troops and horses to return to Sichuan quickly to assist the capital."
"I accept your orders..." The four of them bowed, and upon seeing this, Zhu Yunwen waved his sleeves to signal them to retreat.
After they left, Zhu Yunwen turned his attention to his dragon case again.
There, the memorial of Hu Bu is very conspicuous.
"Your Majesty, this year's expenses have exceeded 14 million..."
"I know, I don't need you to remind me."
Li Quan wanted to step forward to remind him, but Zhu Yunwen frowned and asked him to step back with his eyes.
After Li Quan left, Zhu Yunwen walked to the dragon chair and held the corner of the dragon case tightly with his hands. He tried his best to suppress his temper, but in the end he squeezed out a name from between his teeth: "Zhu...Gao...Xu!"
"Xilulu!!"
Almost at the same time that Zhu Yunwen was informed of the situation in Shandong, after three days of raids, Zhu Gaoxu successfully led his troops to arrive outside Zhucheng County, southeast of Qingzhou Prefecture, near the sea.
Meng Zhang was the one who mainly attacked Zhucheng County, and now Zhucheng County has been captured by him.
Outside the city, a camp was built that could accommodate 50,000 people. Among the four troops who rushed to the counties, Zhu Gaoxu was the last to arrive, so the generals were waiting at the gate of the camp to greet him.
"Your Highness Chitose!"
Meng Zhang, Chen Chang, Zhao Mu, Ta Shi, Doer Heqi, Nimacha, Talachi and other generals stood at the camp gate to welcome Zhu Gaoxu's arrival.
"Thanks for your hard work!"
Zhu Gaoxu stood up and dismounted, while Xu Sheng led his horse and led 6,000 cavalry into the camp to rest.
"Your Highness, please inspect the camp!"
Meng Zhang bowed and saluted. He knew that the first thing Zhu Gaoxu did after dismounting was to inspect the camp to prevent the camp from being insufficiently prepared in case of a night attack.
Zhu Gaoxu did not reply, but began to inspect the camp with the generals.
After inspecting the camp to make sure there were no problems, he took the generals to the commander's tent.
Shortly after he arrived, Xu Sheng also arrived.
Not only him, but also Hu Lun, who just arrived, also appeared here.
After sitting down in the tent, Zhu Gaoxu propped his legs with one hand and held a riding crop in the other. He glanced at the map on his desk and looked up from time to time at the sand table in the tent.
Needless to say the craftsmanship of making this sand table, its accuracy can be called the most accurate sand table of this era.
The sand table shows areas such as Jianghuai and Shandong north of the Yangtze River. Due to issues of the times, many coastal cities in the north of the Yangtze River in later generations are still soaking in the sea and have not been washed out by the Yellow River that diverted the Huai River into the sea.
In terms of width, the canal from Huai'an Prefecture to the Yellow Sea is only 180 miles at most. It can be said that the depth from east to west is very short. If the Bohai Jingqi has enough energy, it can reach from the canal in the west in at most fifteen hours. On the edge of the Yellow Sea.
Of course, for cavalry, this line of defense is very short, but for infantry, especially pure infantry, it is very long.
Zhu Gaoxu went to Zhucheng not for anything else but to go south to the capital.
While Li Jinglong was attracted by the Yan army, he had to end the war as quickly as possible.
He had a premonition that if he did not end the war as soon as possible, a different version of the Battle of Baigouhe in history would start, and nearly 100,000 elite Yan troops and Southern troops would be buried here.
“I summoned you all here for one thing, and I don’t need to elaborate on this matter!”
Zhu Gaoxu's gaze was like a torch. While scanning the generals, he also said bluntly:
"Now that we have captured the lands of Laizhou and Dengzhou, I have received news from Yi Shiha and Sun Cheng. The amount of civilian and official grains obtained from the two lands amounted to more than 5 million shi. For the people of Denglai Second Prefecture, I, Bohai, also need to feed nearly three million people, but these five million stones of food are enough to feed them for two and a half months!"
"In other words, in the next two and a half months, we can free our hands and do a lot of work!"
"You are all old brothers who followed me from the Bohai Sea. I have nothing to avoid you."
"Before the war started last year, I asked Hu Lun to go south and arrange some grain stacks in many coastal towns. These grain stacks ranged from more than a thousand stones to hundreds of stones. There were hundreds of them, which was enough for our army to advance lightly. "
"Artillery, shells, gunpowder, baggage..."
"You don't need to carry any of these things. Of course, Hainan Chenggong and Cui Jun will help transport them."
"The next thing I want you to do is to have a good night's rest. Tomorrow at 10:00 I will set off with the whole army and go all the way south along the coast to Yunti Pass on the north bank of the Huaihe River."
"The navy will cooperate with us to capture Yunti Pass. The next thing we have to do is to continue south, drink horses on the banks of the Yangtze River, cross the Yangtze River via the Jingjiang Sand Island, and after landing in Changzhou, go straight to the capital. We must catch Zhu Yunwen before he escapes. The capital is surrounded!"
Zhu Gaoxu's words were very brief, but they meant that they had to rush for 1,500 miles, and also had to cross the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River.
Throughout the ages, even when fighting from north to south, many armies have been defeated at the first defense line of the Huaihe River when faced with these two natural dangers. Even if they hit the Yangtze River, they can only look at the Yangtze River and sigh.
Right now, His Highness plans to lead a group of his people to overcome these two natural dangers and rush to the most important capital of the imperial court.
Although they knew that this was very difficult and even impossible to complete, the generals bowed one after another: "I am willing to listen to His Highness's orders!!"
After that, Ta Shi, Duo Erhe Qi, Nima Cha and others asked: "Are the Huaihe 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 others laugh, which instantly washed away the heaviness in their hearts. Finally, Xu Sheng laughed and said:
"The Huaihe River is about the same as the Heilongjiang River, but the Yangtze River is wider than the Heilongjiang River, almost three to five times as wide."
Xu Sheng's words are still an understatement. The Yangtze River in this era was wider than in later generations. Even the distance from the capital to Jiangpu was eight or nine miles. The distance from Yangzhou Prefecture to Songjiang Prefecture downstream was even more exaggerated. more than forty miles.
Zhu Gaoxu chose Changzhou Prefecture because this section has Jingjiang, a floating island washed out by the Yangtze River's sediment.
With the existence of this floating island, plus Yang Zhan's more than one hundred ships, it is possible to escort tens of thousands of people across the river within an 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 navy took advantage of the night to block the waterway from Nanjing to the upper reaches. Then he would have succeeded.
"Your Highness, in order to cross the Huaihe River, we must first defeat Sheng Yong who is training troops there. He has 20,000 elite soldiers in Beijing and 40,000 garrison troops who have been training for half a month."
Hu Lun opened his mouth to remind, and the generals lowered their voices and waited for Zhu Gaoxu to speak.
But facing what Hu Lun said about Sheng Yong, Zhu Gaoxu chuckled and shook his head: "If I gather the whole army, let alone Sheng Yong leading 60,000 people to Yunti Pass to hinder me, even if my grandfather walks out, I will not care at all. fear!"
Zhu Gaoxu's grandfather was naturally Xu Da, who was known as the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty.
His words were not belittling Xu Da, but he believed in the strength of the Bohai Navy gathered in Zhucheng.
The 6,000 Liaonan soldiers who had been expeditedly trained brought the number of Shenji Battalion to 15,000. In addition, plus the 24,000 Jurchen Eighth Guards and the 6,000 Han young cavalry under his command, the total It's 45,000 people.
In one year, Zhu Gaoxu was no longer the Wu Xia Amen of Tieling. Zhu Gaoxu, who had suffered a loss from Wu Gao, was not idle. Wang Yi and the others were not just helping to cut wood and build ships in Jinzhou.
Today's 45,000 people, Zhu Gaoxu dare not say that they can use their arms and fingers like an arm, but at least they will not cause the same joke as in the Battle of Tieling, where tens of thousands of people were chasing after them, but the formation collapsed after only a dozen steps.
"Xu Sheng!"
"exist!"
Zhu Gaoxu spoke, and Xu Sheng responded.
He stood up slowly and said to Xu Sheng: "I will leave you three thousand Shenji battalions. You will wait for Zhu Chenggong here with all the artillery. Once Zhu Chenggong arrives, you and he will immediately put the artillery on the ship and go all the way south. Huaihe River, bombard Yunti Pass!"
"The last general takes orders!" Xu Sheng bowed, and Zhu Gaoxu handed him a troop deployment card, which he took with both hands.
After he took it, Zhu Gaoxu continued to speak: "Meng Zhang will lead the 12,000 Shenji battalion as the rear army. Zhao Mu, you will lead the 6,000 cavalry as the front army. I will personally command Ta Shi, Dole He Qi, and Nima Cha." Waiting for the Eight Jurchen Guards of eight people."
"The first battle is the decisive battle, and the outcome will be decided in one battle!"
"Capture Yunti Pass and cross the Huaihe River. This battle is over. All the troops can see their parents, wives and children when they return home!"
"I'll take the order!!" When they heard that the decisive battle was about to begin, all the generals in the camp felt excited.
Do they care about the decisive battle? It's not...
What they care about is the reward Zhu Gaoxu gave them after he captured the capital. That is the reward that can bless his descendants.
Zhu Gaoxu signaled the generals to retreat, and upon seeing this, the generals also retreated one after another.
Zhu Gaoxu was ready to take a good rest, but his remarks made the entire Bohai Navy excited.
Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of the dragon?
You must know that those who followed Taizu Emperor Gao from Huaixi, even if they were ordinary soldiers, at least got a hereditary and unreplaceable official position above the sixth rank, which was the reward of truly being separated from the country.
In addition to this, there are also their military exploits from the southward expedition. These military exploits have been recorded. According to the rules of the Bohai Sea, whether they stay outside the customs or move inside the customs, they can obtain hundreds or even hundreds of acres of land.
Although the soldiers were homesick, these real rewards were what they wanted most right now.
The next day, without Zhu Gaoxu's orders, many soldiers excitedly started packing their things without waiting for the sky to light up.
Obviously the capital is still more than 1,500 miles away from them, but they feel that the capital is very close to them, and so is the glory and wealth.
Before Zhu Gaoxu got up at night, Meng Zhang, Hu Lun, Xu Sheng, Ta Shi and others got up one after another to command the army out of the camp.
Standing outside the gray camp, several people stood chatting together.
Originally, everyone was still discussing the past and the attack on Zhucheng a few days ago, but Hu Lun took a look at the camp, and then slowly said: "Your Highness, it seems that you are not the prince..."
"..." After saying one sentence, everyone fell silent instantly.
Yes, Zhu Gaoxu is not the prince, so what will they do after they capture the capital?
"Isn't this simple?" Ta Shi was a Haixi Jurchen after all. He didn't have the moral sense of men like Meng Zhang, a father, a son, a son, a king, a minister. He said directly: "Why don't you just let your highness be the emperor?"
"That's not what it is said..." Meng Zhang and others shook their heads after hearing this, but Tasha was confused:
"We have conquered the capital, and if His Highness is not allowed to be the emperor, then who will?"
"Your Highness also has father, and His Highness King Yan." Xu Sheng spoke to Ta Shi, but Ta Shi's eyes widened:
"What does the capital we captured have to do with His Highness's father..."
"You barbarian, how can you have a son with a father like this?"
"Father, son, monarch, minister, have you forgotten?"
"Are you going to make His Highness unfilial?"
"Keep your voice down." Meng Zhang and others were startled by Ta Shi's speech. They quickly stopped the loud Jurchen, and then said:
"We can't make the final decision on this matter. We can wait until Yi Zhangyin, Sun Changshi, Governor Zhu and the Wangdu Commander arrive in the capital."
"Instead of worrying about this now, it is better to worry about how to deal with the emperor after taking the capital."
"That's simple!" When Meng Zhang said this, Xu Sheng, who was still a little guilty about the relationship between Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu, immediately became fierce.
"No matter who sees him, find a way to clean it up and don't let him stain His Highness's eyes."
"good!"
"This is acceptable!"
Xu Sheng's suggestion won everyone's approval, and at the same time, the voice of "Your Highness Thousand Years Old" came from the camp.
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 His Highness."
"Don't worry!" Xu Sheng and others nodded frequently, and Zhu Gaoxu's voice came from the camp gate.
"Meng Zhang, what are you guys talking about there?"
Zhu Gaoxu looked at the people standing on the roadside with confusion. Meng Zhang and the others also ran over with smiles after hearing this: "Your Highness, we are discussing women from Jiangnan. He said that he wants a woman from Jiangnan as his wife."
"You haven't even seen the Huaihe River, so you just want to go to the south of the Yangtze River." Zhu Gaoxu laughed out loud and waved at the same time:
"Get ready, we can break camp and go south!"
"Bohai Chronicles": "In the third month of Jihai, Shang led 6,000 cavalry to the new city to provoke provocations. When Jinglong heard that Taizong had defeated the enemy in Yang Qingshui, he left Li Jian to confuse him and sent reinforcements to Baigou River. When Shang Jinglong heard that Jinglong withdrew, , and ordered the armies to converge on the cities."
"Records of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty": "In March, Shang led three thousand cavalry to fight with Jinglong. Jinglong was afraid and avoided the battle, and withdrew to Hebei in the Qing Dynasty. He also heard about Hui and gathered in formation to defeat Yang Qingshui, so he withdrew his troops."
"When I heard that Jinglong was leaving, I told the generals: 'Jianglong is timid after leaving, and there is no one left in Huaisi.' So he sent his troops south, captured the cities, and reached Zhili."
(End of chapter)
