Bright Spring

Zhu Gaoxu said to Zhang Fu: "The army must also pay attention to public opinion. We must let the Annan army and civilians understand that their life is not good because of the war; the culprits are Hu's rebels and Chen Jikuo's rebels. , is a good person who went to help them. Only by letting the legitimate descendants of the Chen family be the king, can we avoid the unreasonable ideas of ambitious people, end the war, and let the people live and work in peace and contentment."

Zhang Fu clasped his fists and said, "The sage is wise and mighty, and I will obey the will."

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Order the Annan Governor's Mansion, officers and men, civil servants, and eunuchs to immediately stop robbing and castrating boys in Annan Kingdom, prohibiting the capture of civilian women, prohibiting offering Annan jewels to the palace, and prohibiting disorderly robbery. Those who disobey will be severely punished according to the law of the Ming Dynasty!"

All the ministers took orders, and Hu Guang from the Imperial Academy reported that today's decision-making would be written into an imperial decree for the emperor to review.

At this moment, Liu Sheng came out again and bowed: "The rebel army under Chen Jikuo's command is entrenched in Qinghua City, and the base of the rebellion is in Nhe'an not far southwest of it. I invite the elite five thousand soldiers of the Beijing camp and the guards An army of [-], armed with firearms, food and fodder, landed from Majiang by boat, and took Thanh Hoa and Nhe An directly!"

After Zhu Gaoxu listened, he buried his head in looking at the big map on the table.

The civil and military people around whispered for a while. At this time, Zhang Fu persuaded: "The official army has occupied Dongguan (Hanoi) and a large area in the north. The army is attacking from Dongguan. It can be attacked and defended. Why should General Liu take the risk to go to the south? Become a lone army?"

Zhang Fu's remarks are indeed relatively safe statements.

Large-scale military operations at this time are still based on land routes, which are more reliable.Therefore, North Korea, which is bordered by land, has adjusted its national policy and tried its best to make friends with the Central Plains, otherwise it will trigger a war; while Annan Kingdom has been interfered by force from the Central Plains Dynasty more than once.Only Japan, which is isolated overseas, has not bought much into the Central Plains, because there is no land-based route to advance.

But when Zhu Gaoxu heard Liu Sheng's bold idea, he couldn't help becoming very interested.Because using the navy to achieve force projection is a kind of strategic progress; since Liu Sheng took the initiative to try it, Zhu Gaoxu was tempted for a while.

However, the Yuan army had a lesson from the past. The failure of the Yuan army to use sea ships to send troops to Japan cannot be regarded as a lesson.Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu didn't want to make a decision right away.

"We'll discuss it later," he said.

The ministers kowtowed and thanked each other, and withdrew from the main hall of Rouyi Hall.

Zhu Gaoxu also sent Cao Fu to invite the queen Chen Shi to inform Chen Shi of the decision of the official army to march into Annan.And let Chen Zhengyuan return to the country to inherit the throne and take the post of governor of Annan Dudufu.

He has already planned the post-war ruling strategy of An Nanguo.It is to support the clan of Annan Kingdom who is close to the imperial court and rule the country by itself; the imperial court stationed a part of the army in Annan Kingdom to protect the power of the king supported by the imperial court, and secondly to influence the national policy of Annan Kingdom.

The military power of the garrison is in the Annan Dudufu.The governor is also led by the king of Annan Kingdom. In name, the king seems to be in command of the Ming army stationed at the same time, so as to reduce the resistance of the Annan people; but the actual military power is controlled by a group of Han people, including the deputy governor.

Zhu Gaoxu believes that "Jiaozhi County" has been independent for too long since it broke away from the Central Plains during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and there are still various forces in the area.If the imperial court wants to develop through direct occupation, emigration of military households, etc., and follow the Liaodong strategy, the price of countering the rebellion may be too high.

So after he ascended the throne, he changed the national policy during the Yongle period, and planned to control the upper echelons of Annan Kingdom first; whether he wants to assimilate and regain it in the future, we will play by ear.In short, it is too hasty and the cost is too high.

Chen should more or less know that Zhu Gaoxu's investment in An Nanguo must have plots, but she doesn't care much; after her husband's death, she has long since lost her strength. Fang forces use.Now relying entirely on the power of the Ming Dynasty, she can let her son get the throne, so it seems that the Chen family is really grateful to Zhu Gaoxu.

After discussing for a while, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly mentioned that Chen Zhengyuan was protected by the Ming army, and suggested that the Chen family should not return to the country.

After Chen hesitated, she politely rejected Zhu Gaoxu's persuasion.

Chapter 732

The weather was hot, so the doors and windows of Rouyi Hall were left open for ventilation.At this moment, a gust of cool wind came in, and Zhu Gaoxu suddenly felt a lot more comfortable; while he had been talking about the sea just now, he vaguely felt that the cool breeze was like a sea breeze.

For a split second, somehow, a fragment of his memory was awakened.

(A long time ago, when he was drifting along the coast, he met a middle-aged friend who had retired from the army. Once, the two chatted late at night at the beach, and talked too much, most of them were forgotten, anyway, it was not important. But that A few words from his friend suddenly popped into his mind: As a woman, you care about yourself the most, followed by her children, and her man again, see if it’s useful.)

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly felt that those words seemed quite reasonable.But it's not about who is more noble than the other, it's just human nature.

When Zhu Gaoxu was distracted, Chen's voice sounded a bit trance-like: "Chen Zhengyuan is still young, and there is no one close to him, so the ministers and concubines are not at ease. An Nanguo is very chaotic, and the civil and military personnel in the country may not listen to a child. If so, Chen Zhengyuan now needs the help of his concubines."

"Hmm..." Zhu Gaoxu responded.

The Chen family said again: "I don't want to leave either, but I just don't care about having a baby, and I will definitely keep my promises when I return to the country. As long as the situation in Annan is stable, if the Holy Majesty doesn't mind, I will go to Beijing to meet the Holy Majesty."

Zhu Gaoxu was noncommittal, he suddenly felt that if Chen Shi was not forced, she might not come back.Even with the ethical code of male superiority and female inferiority, older and experienced women, as long as they have some ability, seem to be reluctant to attach themselves to men; after all, they may not be reliable.

For example, Shen Xu's is the same.

However, Zhu Gaoxu was not angry at all. He went to look for Queen Chen at the beginning, also out of consideration of a political-political alliance.He also felt that Chen's thoughts were probably understandable.

He has long since lost his obsession with life and death, but when he thinks of the separation soon, his emotions are still shrouded in a kind of sadness.

"Alright." Zhu Gaoxu said, he turned his head to look at Chen, showing a slight smile, "I am looking forward to the day when we meet again."

Chen Shi suddenly bit her teeth, looking a bit uncomfortable, and then sighed faintly.She made trivial movements for a while, raised her head and said in a low voice: "Chenqie, can I meet with the Holy One again before leaving?" After she finished speaking, a faint flush appeared on her cheeks.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

At the beginning of Yongle, when he led the army to conquer Annan Kingdom, he heard about a local custom.It is said that on the eve of getting married, or when a local woman wants to separate from her lover, she will sleep with her lover for one night.There are many tribes (ethnic groups) in An Nanguo, and I don't know which tribe's custom it is. Anyway, many of them are different from Ming Dynasty, such as intermarriage with the same surname.

Could it be that Chen's hint just now means that Zhu Gaoxu is her best friend?Zhu Gaoxu didn't ask much, and really felt that there was no need to force her wishes.

Mrs. Chen bowed her knees and bid farewell, and then she left through the north palace gate.But Zhu Gaoxu saw the shadow on the ground. When she walked to the door, she seemed to stand for a while, and then looked back once.

Zhu Gaoxu ignored these little actions. He let out a breath, sat here alone, and began to ponder over the maps spread out on the table...

According to the habit of the Ming court in deploying battles, the generals were appointed from the capital to lead troops, and then some of the elite of the capital camp and the guards mobilized near the battlefield were dispatched to form an army, and the battle was carried out in this way.

There are nearly [-] military households in the Dongguan area of ​​An Nanguo, and the military households in the guard station can be mobilized from Guangxi and Guangdong to gather enough soldiers; what needs to be considered now is to dispatch elites from the capital to go south, and use well-equipped and well-trained The soldiers of the Beijing camp increased the combat effectiveness of the Ming army.

The ministries of the Beijing camp have been equipped with a large number of artillery and firearms.After the advent of the King of Han Cannon, it has been improved several times, and now there are three types of artillery with different calibers: "Heaven, Earth, and Xuan". .

The mortar is an improved version of the Hongwu cannon. During the civil war, the Han Wangjun had no choice but to use bronze to cast the Hongwu cannon because they did not obtain the technology of casting steel cannons from the Shanxi government.Later, the Nanshu Iron Works discovered that the bronze cast cannon could make the Hongwu cannon have a larger caliber, so the Hongwu cannon evolved into a bronze cannon.

Jingying also has a large number of "Chunhan" matchlock guns, which are divided into two types: light and heavy.Heavy guns are mainly used against armored targets and require brackets to fire; light guns are small in caliber and relatively light, and are used to deal with general rebels.

To mobilize the Beijing camp for an expedition, it is necessary to carry a large amount of firearms and equipment, and it is best to go by water.After a large number of naval warships sailed, the sea transportation capacity is insufficient and the risk is greater than that of inland rivers; therefore, Zhu Gaoxu believes that it is more feasible to go inland rivers.

The ships based on the Chaohu Navy (the largest regular navy army in the Ming Dynasty) can transport [-] to [-] soldiers of the Beijing camp, as well as a large amount of guns and ammunition accompanying the army.

Zhu Gaoxu picked up the ink brush and began to draw lines along the Yangtze River.The fleet can travel from the capital along the great river, enter the Xiangjiang River and the Lijiang River, and arrive at the Guilin Mansion of the Guangxi Governor's Office.Then advance by land and water, along the Luoqing River to Liuzhou Prefecture.The soldiers and civilians mobilized from the Guangxi Guangdong Guards met with the Beijing camp in Liuzhou, escorted the firearms and military equipment by land; passed through Lang Son occupied by the Ming army, and entered the hinterland of An Nanguo.

Liu Sheng proposed the idea of ​​attacking Tsinghua by sea, and Zhu Gaoxu also wanted to try it.

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a while, remembering that the navy in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian had the ability to sail offshore. For the first Annan campaign, the imperial court mobilized the navy of the southeast coast.If the Southeast Navy sails offshore and enters the mouth of the Jingtai River in the Beibu Gulf (near Haiphong City), it will be able to join Zhang Fu Liusheng and other troops who came by land.

As long as the southeast navy receives Liu Sheng's surprise attack army, goes south along the coast, and reaches the Majiang River estuary near Tsinghua; the strategic intention can be realized.

Considering the lack of naval capacity in the southeast, after Hou Xian returned from North Korea and the remaining ships in Longjiang Port, part of the navy could go south to reinforce the Annanguo campaign.

According to Zhu Gaoxu's preliminary judgment, the Chaohu Navy can mobilize about 5000 people from the Beijing Army Army Division and a large number of firearms.Due to the presence of guards in Dongguan and Guangdong and Guangxi, the strength of the Ming army could reach 10,000+ in the entire Annan Campaign.

Sitting next to the big table for a long time, Zhu Gaoxu felt that the air was also hot, and his clothes became damp with sweat.He was a little tired, so he stood up from the chair.

There are eunuchs and maids on duty in the main hall, but they dare not make a sound.Zhu Gaoxu was still in the main hall, pacing slowly.

The chaotic situation around Daming and the idea of ​​slow progress put him in a bad mood.After he had a feeling of lifelessness, he quickly became firm again, and said in his heart: We must survive until the stage of obtaining huge benefits.

Otherwise, all previous efforts will be for naught!With the existing system and thinking, if nothing has changed, and there will not be enough benefits; then no matter how much the court does, it will be in vain, and the government will surely die. The abolition of "Zheng He's Voyages to the West" should be an inevitable result.

Because the farming empire is self-sufficient, external material input is not necessary; under the land tax and corvee system, no matter what major projects are, they are simply exploiting and squeezing the people, making it more difficult for the court to govern. "Great success" is harmful but not beneficial.Only by trying to tie the operation of the entire country and interest groups to the chariot of the historical torrent, and maintain expansion and progress, can the world be prevented from accumulating disadvantages and sinking in a closed cycle.

This is Zhu Gaoxu's idea, but who knows how far he can go?

At this moment, the eunuch Wang Gui hurried to the door of the main hall, took a look inside, walked in, bowed and said: "My lord, the Minister of General Affairs has just received Hou Xian's memorial. The fleet has already arrived at Liujia Port. They will arrive at Longjiang Port in five days and go to the palace to report to the emperor."