In the Dongnuan Pavilion, Gong Yonggu looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with some worry, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, Gao Jie and Wu Sangui have not yet asked for battle, and Ma Jinzhong and others only have 20,000 troops. Even if we add more than 20,000 of our troops, the total strength will be It’s only over fifty thousand.”
"Even if we are not wary of Wu Sangui, we must be wary of Liu Zongmin rushing to help Juyongguan. Attacking the city in this way is a bit reluctant. Can we wait a little longer?"
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him and said, "Ping Xihou, don't worry. If what we expected is true, Gao Jie and Wu Sangui's letter of challenge is on their way."
"As for Liu Zongmin, he has not yet joined Liu Fangliang's army. With the troops and horses in his hands, he cannot pose a threat to us at all."
"And Thief Li actually made such a stupid mistake, we must not miss this opportunity!"
It turned out that Wu Mengming came to report just now. After Li Zicheng heard that Jiang Quan had killed his pacifier, he was furious. He also heard that reinforcements from all walks of life were coming. He ignored Li Yan's dissuasion and insisted on letting Li Guo lead his army to attack Li Guozhen.
Li Zicheng originally had only 40,000 to 50,000 men, but now Li Guo has brought more than 20,000 men, leaving him with only over 20,000 men. Furthermore, due to the rebellion of Jiang Quan and others, Li Zicheng was extremely distrustful of the soldiers who had surrendered from Yongguan.
Not only did they replace them all, but they also punished them with death if they complained at all. Although this method calmed some soldiers, it also made more people feel resentful.
It happened that Gao Wencai was hiding among the rebels and lied that Li Zichen wanted to trap and kill everyone, but he did not take action because the army had not arrived. Once the rebels arrived, everyone would be inevitable.
The soldiers were already dissatisfied with Li Zicheng. Now they heard about this and became even more angry. In addition, after hearing about Zhu Yuanzhang's various miracles, they believed that he was the destined emperor. After some lobbying by Gao Wencai, they were all willing to sacrifice themselves to atone for their sins.
So after Gao Wencai contacted everyone, he hurriedly sent the news out.
At this time, Ma Jinzhong and others also fell into the trap and wrote letters asking for a fight.
Seeing that the opportunity was rare, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Gong Yonggu to be found, preparing for him to lead his army to attack Li Zicheng and reverse the current unfavorable situation.
After Gong Yonggu heard Zhu Yuanzhang's plan, he was very excited, but he still hesitated because he had not seen Wu Sangui and Gao Jie's letter of challenge.
At this moment, a young eunuch sent Wu Sangui's letter of challenge.
Seeing this, Gong Yonggu admired Zhu Yuanzhang even more, and said with excitement: "Your Majesty, since Wu Sangui took the initiative to ask for a fight, I guess he has received the news of his release from your majesty. This time he will not be as afraid of fighting as last time."
"With the help of Guan Ning's cavalry, our morale will definitely be boosted, and we will definitely be able to win Juyong Pass."
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while and said: "Ping Xihou, go back to Fan Jingwen and ask him to draft an order for Wu Sangui and Wang Yongji to lead their troops eastward to prevent Liu Zongmin from rushing to help Juyongguan."
"In addition, you and Wang Jiayan will inspect the city defenses at each gate to ensure the stability of the city after the army leaves the capital."
Hearing this, Gong Yonggu looked at Zhu Yuanzhang in surprise and said, "Your Majesty, do you suspect that Wu Sangui didn't really ask for a fight?"
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "It's not a suspicion, but a confirmation. We met Wu Sangui once at Chaoyang Gate. This man is definitely a tycoon."
"It may be possible to deceive Ma Jinzhong and others with our information, but Wu Sangui has a lot of connections in Beijing. It is not easy to hide it from him."
"In order to prevent him from trying his best to affect morale when attacking the city, it is better to let him stop Liu Zongmin and others."
Gong Yonggu frowned and said: "If Wu Sangui won't do his best to attack the city, then he may not do his best to stop Liu Zongmin. If he goes against the will and lets Liu Zongmin go, then we will be attacked from both sides, wouldn't it be even more dangerous?"
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered: "We heard from Wu Mengming that Wang Yongji has been quite dissatisfied with Wu Sangui since the First World War in Tongzhou, and has secretly contacted many people in Gao Di."
"Unless Wu Sangui openly resists the decree this time, it is absolutely impossible for him to act like he did before..."
While Zhu Yuanzhang was talking, the young eunuch sent Gao Jie's letter of challenge in again.
Gong Yonggu thought that Zhu Yuanzhang killed Li Benzhen, and Gao Jie even beat Li Chengdong angrily. His reliability was even lower than that of Wu Sangui.
He hesitated for a while and said: "Your Majesty, what are you going to do with Gao Jie and let him defend Liu Zongmin?"
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "Gao Jie is a bandit soldier and has no foundation in the court. Although he is dissatisfied with us in his heart, he is eager to make achievements and become famous. As long as we give him a chance, he will not give up."
"So we are going to divide Gao Jie's troops into two. One group will be led by Li Chengdong to monitor Liu Fangliang's army heading north, and the other group will be led by Gao Jie and attack Juyong Pass with Ma Jinzhong and others."
Gong Yonggu knew that Zhu Yuanzhang's move would further deepen the conflict between Gao and Li, and would put Gao Jie in the public eye. He would not dare to cheat, and he admired Zhu Yuanzhang even more in his heart.
Then he saw that Zhu Yuanzhang still had a worried look on his face and knew that he should be worried about Li Guozhen and others, so he comforted him and said: "Your Majesty, Uncle Xiangcheng is also a man who has experienced battles for a long time. In addition, Lord Shen is very resourceful and will definitely be able to hold Li Guo back. Please don’t worry, Your Majesty!”
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled bitterly and said: "Ping Xihou, you don't know something. Although Uncle Xiangcheng is good at talking about military affairs, he is not able to fight in actual combat. It would be most suitable for Wang Shoulin to cooperate with Shen Zhanran, because the army was summoned by Uncle Xiangcheng. If the generals are changed at the moment of battle, The morale of the army will inevitably be unstable, so we will have no choice but to compromise."
"But when marching and fighting, it is most taboo to go out too far. If they cooperate properly, they can trap Li Guo. If not, we are afraid that their lives will be in danger!"
Hearing this, Gong Yonggu advised again: "I see that Lord Shen has a plan in mind before he leaves, and I will definitely be able to fulfill your Majesty's entrustment. Moreover, I will also capture Juyong Pass in the shortest possible time tomorrow and support Lord Shen. Please don't worry, Your Majesty!" "
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while and said: "Okay, Ping Xihou, the time is almost up. You hurry up and prepare. We believe you will succeed!"
Hearing this, Gong Yonggu bowed respectfully, turned around and left Dongnuan Pavilion.
Zhu Yuanzhang carefully deduced tomorrow's battle, and after confirming that nothing was missed, he slowly leaned on the wooden chair.
At this time, he couldn't help but think of Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Li Wenzhong and others. If only one of them was here, he wouldn't have to worry so much.
Because although he has considered all kinds of problems, the battlefield is ever-changing, and he has to adjust in the middle and cannot command in person. If Gong Yonggu and others do not handle it properly, the situation of the battle may be reversed.
Fortunately, even if Juyong Pass cannot be captured, it will only delay the defeat of the rebels and will not affect the overall situation.
Then he thought that Xu Da and others also grew up in the war, and that Liu Wenbing, Gong Yonggu and others were not bad in qualifications. As long as they were given enough time, they should become famous generals.
Thinking of this, he relaxed a little, and then a wave of sleep came over him, and he slowly closed his eyes.
In the dream, he seemed to have returned to the days of fighting and fighting, leading Xu Da and others to conquer the world.
Just as he was killing everyone, he was suddenly awakened by the sound of hurried footsteps, and then he saw a little eunuch hurried in.
