Bright Spring

The officers and soldiers marched in the prefectures and counties of Daming, so they didn't need to carry too much food and grass.At this time, there was not enough food in Wu Gao's army, but it could last for a while.Originally, the army rations could support the army until it reached Guilin Mansion; but suddenly it rained endlessly, and the marching speed was greatly reduced. If this drags on, it may not be able to maintain Guilin Mansion.

So Wu Gao still wanted to occupy Yangshuo County first.Although the county is small, there are always some grains in the warehouses, and there will be "free warehouses".

The righteous warehouse is the grain accumulated by the people in all townships and districts. It is managed by the famous gentry. In case of natural disasters, the grain in the warehouse will be taken out and shared among everyone. (So ​​when natural disasters happen by chance, the imperial court does not need to provide disaster relief, unless the harvest has been bad for many consecutive years, which will cause local famine.)

The officers and soldiers took the grain from the Yicang, and wrote to the imperial court to exempt the local land tax for two years, and let the villagers deposit the land tax in the Yicang.

But Yangshuo County is not the most critical place, the most critical city is: Guilin.

The reason why Wu Gao didn't dare to stay was because the rebels were also marching in the rain.With the strength of the King of Han's military, Wu Gao believed that the King of Han could determine the target of the army; if the King of Han's army reached Guilin Mansion first, then Wu Gao's army would be cornered!

Wu Gao was silent for a long time, then he suddenly opened his mouth and said decisively: "All generals know that there will always be difficult situations in war. We must go to Yangshuo County in the rain! Send someone to order the county magistrate to prepare for the treatment of typhoid fever. medicinal materials."

He looked at a military general not far away, who immediately clasped his fists and said: "The last general has orders!"

"Only a few tens of miles away!" Wu Gao's tone eased a bit, "We first arrived in Yangshuo County, and then we tried to intercept the rebels and find a decisive battle! As long as we find an opportunity to defeat the pursuers, we can march northward calmly. "

The general said: "It's raining, so firearms, bows and crossbows can't be used..."

Wu Gao said coldly: "What does that matter? The rebels can't use it either! On the road to the east, there are also many sick soldiers of the rebels."

Chapter 481 The Arena

On the morning of August [-]th, there was a light rain, but then it cleared up, and there was a burst of sunshine around noon.As a result, the road became much drier, and the marching speed of the King of Han's army also accelerated.

Based on the report from the scouts, Zhu Gaoxu estimated that the army would arrive at the Li River Ferry in the east of Yangshuo County by the end of this evening.

The sky is cloudy, the ground is windy, and the sun shines through the clouds from time to time.

Another messenger came from ahead, Zhu Gaoxu and a group of people left the main road and stopped at the side of the army.Zhu Gaoxu stretched out his right hand, straightened the letter paper that was swinging in the wind, and looked at it deeply.

He was still relatively weak, but the high fever subsided the morning before.Because he has not had a good rest at all, his main discomfort now is a little pain in his head, slow thinking, and pain in his throat when he swallows.It is estimated that the tonsils are inflamed, and within a few days, these symptoms may be very unfavorable.

Zhao Ping reported in the letter that two pontoon bridges had been erected at the narrow part of the Li River in the east of Yangshuo County this afternoon.Thousands of enemy vanguards also arrived here, and camped several miles away across a village; the enemy's main camp was more than ten miles away to the southwest.

Zhu Gaoxu's throat was uncomfortable, and he didn't want to talk too much. After reading the letter, he handed the report to Wang Bin beside him.He only said one sentence to the generals around him: "Wu Gao wants to fight me decisively!"

He didn't explain, just said his judgment casually.

In the past few days, the armies of the two sides have taken two different paths; the official army is located on the west bank of the Lijiang River, Yangshuo County is on the west bank, and the Hanwang army is on the east bank.Therefore, if the army of the King of Han wanted to enter Yangshuo County, they had to cross the Li River.

But capturing Yangshuo County was not Zhu Gaoxu's goal.He asked Zhao Ping to build the pontoon bridge first, just to give Wu Gao some good reasons to make Wu Gao believe that the target of the King of Han's army was the county town; and Zhu Gaoxu's real intention of marching in the rain these days was to make the enemy's army tired. .

Therefore, the two pontoon bridges erected by Zhao Ping may not necessarily be used by the King of Han army.

But now the enemy forward has arrived near the pontoon bridge, but they are only monitoring a few miles away, and there is no sign of harassment!If the enemy did not want the King of Han's army to cross the river, they could launch a small-scale battle at this time and try to burn the pontoon bridge.

Wu Gao did not order to do that.Of course he is not because of his grace, but because he hopes that the King of Han's army will cross the river from there, right?Therefore, Wu Gao's intention is most likely to fight against the King of Han's army on the west bank of the Lijiang River to decide the winner!

Wang Bin's voice said: "If Wu Gao doesn't want to fight with us, I'm afraid he will send people to burn the boat bridge."

After Zhu Gaoxu listened, he glanced at Wang Bin with approving eyes, and nodded slightly.But Zhu Gaoxu did not express his opinion immediately whether he was willing to cater to Wu Gao's invitation to fight.

When the army walked along the gradually drying road and arrived at the camp being built by the vanguard army and the supply battalion, the time was probably between Shen time and You time, and there was still some time before dark.

Zhu Gaoxu simply ordered Wang Bin to order everyone to set up camp, and then take out the gunpowder in the barrel to dry.The gunpowder in each battalion was naturally not exposed to rain, but it might be a bit damp after it rained for several days in a row, it would be better to dry it out...

The military camp was set up on the banks of the Lijiang River. This section of the river flows roughly from east to west, and the King of Han's army is on the north bank.In the flat areas near the county seat and on the banks of the Lijiang River, the population of the villages became more dense;

Zhu Gaoxu walked into a chic blue-tiled mansion where Xingyuan was located, and summoned the generals to discuss matters related to the war.

Almost all generals agree to fight Wu Gao!The soldiers are always on the march, and they are under the pressure of the enemy. It is not easy; if there is a brisk fight, although there is bloodshed, the time will not last so long.

However, some generals thought: "Chen Zhen's department is escorting military supplies such as food, grass and medicinal materials, and is heading north along the Lijiang River. If we can delay the war for two days, we can get more than [-] reinforcements."

This proposal was immediately supported by several people, and someone even suggested: "Yesterday, the prince said that General Ping's [-] cavalry are coming first. If we can wait for General Ping's cavalry to reinforce us, we will have more troops."

Zhu Gaoxu finally said: "Wu Gao is willing to wait?"

The generals immediately looked at each other in blank dismay.After a while, Zhu Gaoxu immersed himself in the map, and the generals in the room began to discuss.

... The map on the table turned out to be drawn by someone else.But right now, I am afraid that only Zhu Gaoxu can understand it. He has added a lot of symbols on it, and it looks like it has become colorful and messy.

From Yangshuo County to Guilin Fucheng, there are only about 150 miles left.But Wu Gao still wanted to go to war in Yangshuo County, there must be a reason.

Zhu Gaoxu guessed that Wu Gaojun may have low morale and a poor situation; he wanted to win a victory with superior troops, and then walk the 150 miles relatively easily, reducing the loss of troops who were scattered and left behind.

Zhu Gaoxu had said to the generals under his command before that if he knew he couldn't win a battle and had a choice, the best choice was not to fight.

Wu Gao is willing to fight this time because he definitely thinks he can win!Just like the confrontation in the east of Pingyue Mansion, Wu Gao's initial intention was to start a field battle, but later Zhu Gaoxu chose to defend the high ground to take advantage; Almost... This is why Wu Gao is willing to go to war.

If he waited for Chen Zhen's troops to arrive, or even a large group of Ping An's cavalry, would Wu Gao choose to wait and then start a big battle?It is estimated that the confrontation and abandonment of Pingyuefu will happen again!

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while, then raised his head and said, "Opportunities are often accompanied by risks!"

The generals' discussions stopped one after another, and they all looked sideways.

Zhu Gaoxu's voice was not loud, and he said solemnly: "At this moment, our morale is far better than Wu Gao! I think we can fight tomorrow."

This is a battle of more than 5 people against close to 10 people.So for a while, the generals were not excited, everyone was quiet for a while, and then someone clasped their fists and said: "The last general obeys the order of the prince!"

Then many people performed the ceremony and took orders.

Chen Zhen's reinforcements dozens of miles away, and the Ping An reinforcements expected to arrive in a few days, are the reasons for Zhu Gaoxu's determination.Although the reinforcements have not yet arrived, as long as the battle does not collapse within a day or two, the strength of the King of Han's army will gradually increase.

At this moment, there was a shout of "Report" from outside the door.

After a while, a sergeant was brought in and brought Chen Zhen's things.

Zhu Gaoxu opened the cloth bag and looked at the two letters inside. He was a little confused at first, but after a while he turned to the last page and saw the inscription of Wu Gao, Marquis of Jiangyin, and he immediately understood.

This is the letter Wu Gao wrote to Chen Yongsheng before, promising to ensure the safety of Pinglefu City.After the prefect Chen Yongsheng surrendered, these letters were obtained by Chen Zhen.

Zhu Gaoxu rubbed his forehead with his hand for a while, then suddenly slapped the table, handed the letter to Hou Hai, a civil servant beside him, and said, "Find a brother from Beisi, and send Wu Gao's letter to the Beisi stronghold in Guilin Mansion. The spies over there used these things to persuade the officials of the Guilin Mansion to surrender."

Hou Hai cupped his hands and said, "Your officer obeys."

Zhu Gaoxu stood up and said, "I am going to the south bank to check out the terrain, and return to the camp before dark."

All the generals were in an uproar and persuaded one after another, "There are enemy troops on the south bank of the Lijiang River, the prince can send scouts to investigate..."

"I have made up my mind." Zhu Gaoxu said directly.

This battle with outnumbered enemies has great risks in itself!Zhu Gaoxu was willing to let the army take risks, so he was also willing to risk his own safety.Besides, this was his impromptu decision, and the possibility of being besieged by the enemy is not very high.

Zhu Gaoxu led dozens of cavalry soldiers, and Wang Bin led the team.A group of people rode out of the barracks.

When they came to the Li River pontoon, Zhao Ping, a tall and lean general, came to greet them.Zhao Ping asked for orders: "The last general will then transfer the vanguard to cross the river and support the prince on the south bank."