Bright Spring

The huge animal, which was usually quite docile, was completely desperate at this moment, and rampaged in the crowd.The situation of the army crowd in Chenla was simply appalling, flying around, fleeing and screaming in chaos.

The hundreds of households in the second formation of the Ming army used spring cold light guns in the same way to maintain firepower with three-stage strikes, and shot at the Chenla infantry at close range.This is the time to add fuel to the fire.

The Chenla army crowd was like a large group of ducks drifting with the current, rushing forward at first, and then fleeing to the hillside together.

The enemy army didn't hold on for even half an hour, and the whole army became a mob, running everywhere on the hillside and in the woods.The short battle ended, the Chenla people were defeated, and all that remained was to be hunted down and slaughtered.

Chapter 893 Sense of Existence

In the east, the Ming army was chasing death to the north, and sporadic battles took place everywhere; in the Mekong River Basin in the west, it was a different scene.

It had just rained on the vast green plain, and it stopped soon. The air was very fresh and clear, and the wind sent a pleasant cool breeze.On both sides of the Mekong River, the idyllic scenery is peaceful and primitive.

Only the large battleships with huge hard sails on the river are incompatible with the situation here, obviously not belonging to the things here, but uninvited guests.

Occasionally, farmers wearing straw hats stopped and watched on the distant river bank.A child riding on the back of a buffalo, holding a branch in his hand, with his face always facing the river, must be very curious.

Many warships are going down the Mekong River. Looking at the direction of the water flow, there is an outlet to the sea ahead.They are heading back towards the sea.

The naval commander Hu Jun in uniform was standing on the ship's tower, his red cloak fluttering forward.He was looking at the river, watching a small boat gradually approaching the side of the treasure ship.

After a while, the Semuren eunuch Meng Ji boarded the deck and walked up the ship building.Hu Jun greeted him politely immediately, and then handed over a piece of paper in his hand with a red seal on it.

Meng Ji looked carefully at the seal for a while, then casually glanced at the content, and said, "This is the word of Marshal Chen, and it must also be the meaning of Marshal Chen."

Hu Jun's expression immediately became more relaxed, and he sighed: "It's a pity, we drove the boat so far, but we didn't get anything, and we withdrew too quickly. I thought that if we waited and waited for the truth When the defeated army of the La people comes over, there should be something to gain."

Meng Ji responded, noncommittal.

Hu Jun said again: "It's all right to withdraw the troops immediately, but Marshal Chen specifically mentioned that what's the use of telling us to fire a few shots at Phnom Penh City and leave?"

Meng Ji, a Semu man, pondered for a while, then spoke pure official language, and said: "Our family heard that Angkor City has been threatened by the Siamese army all year round, and the Chenla royal family is running Phnom Penh City as a way out. Fired a few shots at the city of Phnom Penh, just to alert the Chenla royal family; if they act illegally, they will face more serious consequences."

"It makes sense." Hu Jun suddenly said, and then he couldn't help but praised, "Eunuch Meng is very knowledgeable."

Meng Ji smiled and remained silent.

During the Yongle period, this eunuch served as the young supervisor of the ceremonial supervisor by the side of Emperor Taizong.If it weren't for the turmoil in the imperial city in the past few years, his status might not stop there.However, one of the eunuchs in power during the Taizong period can still live to this day, and I'm afraid it won't work without some knowledge.

The two were silent for a while, and Meng Ji said again: "That's why the order to withdraw the troops is reasonable. From our point of view, Marshal Chen wants to leave Chenla Kingdom as soon as possible. Moreover, the prince (Wang Jinghong) doesn't agree with this idea. But there was no objection."

Hu Jun thought for a while and said: "So the letter was not written by Wang Gonggong, but by Marshal Chen."

Anyone with a position in the military knows that the meaning of the eunuch Wang Jinghong is the highest decision of the navy during this trip.

Meng Ji nodded approvingly.

The navy sailed westward and sailed until noon, and there were more and more people on both sides of the river; the scene of Phnom Penh, the second largest city in Chenla, gradually appeared on the west bank of the river.The general on the treasure ship shouted below the deck: "Starboard charge!"

The treasure boat continued to drive slowly, and it took a long time before it reached the river outside Phnom Penh.A temple tower near the city wall caught the attention of the generals of the Ming army. The tower seemed to be a pagoda; however, its shape was completely different from the pagoda of the Ming Dynasty, with a rounded outline and a sharper top.

One wall of Phnom Penh City is very close to the river bank, but it is at least one mile away from the Ming warship; and the pagoda is a little further away.After the general gave the order to shell the pagoda, people stood on the side of the ship with great interest, watching the buildings in the distance.

The deafening sound of the cannon rang out, first a few times, but the stupa was alive and well.The distance was too far, several shots missed, and the iron ball flew to nowhere.

However, the battle shocked the defenders of Phnom Penh City.As soon as the sound of the cannons stopped, the sound of gongs and drums beating up and down the city wall, and the noisy voices of people spread a mile away.People were coming and going on the city wall, and swords and guns were shaking.

The Ming army fired several more shots, but still missed.The two treasure ships that came over after that also fired one after another, and the naval guns fired intermittently, and the sound of the guns continued for a while.

At this moment, gray dust appeared on the shoulder of the pagoda in the distance, and many bricks and stones fell in the air.After a while, the top began to askew, and gradually sank down.

There was a burst of cheers on the deck of the treasure ship.After entering the Mekong River, the soldiers who did not fight in vain now seem to have achieved some kind of spiritual goal, and the atmosphere is a little bit higher.

After hitting the stupa, all warships stopped firing.The warships of the Ming army swaggered past under the eyes of the defenders and continued to sail southeast.

The eunuch Meng Ji turned his head and said to Hu Jun: "The emperor once said that the southern countries should feel the presence of the Ming army. Now, the people of Chenla should know that the army has come."

...At this time, Zhengshi Wang Jinghong, Admiral Chen Xuan and others had already left the Dong Nai River.They had just arrived at Saigon Bay.

The exit of Saigon Bay is in the southwest direction, and it is surrounded by land on several sides.On the southeast side of the bay, there is a slender peninsula (Vung Tau), which makes the big bay even more closed.

Right now, Chen Xuan and a group of people have already landed, at the northwest end of the peninsula.

Chen Xuan walked around in a circle, and the first sentence he spoke was generalized: "There is nothing wrong with this place."

Pointing to the sea, he said, "Saigon Bay is surrounded by a small bay, and there is a mountain range in the west. It is difficult for storms on the sea to reach here. The most rare thing is that the water in this sea area is still very deep. Repair the pier, maybe the big ships can also directly dock at the pier.”

Wang Jinghong smiled and said: "Marshal Chen is really amazing. The place around Saigon Bay is so big, it's surprising that you found this place. It's very desolate and remote, and there are few people around."

Chen Xuan said: "Sometimes we choose carefully, maybe we can't pick a good place; only when we see it, we realize that the most wonderful place is right in front of us. There are continuous mountains over there, which can not only block the wind; the most important thing is that there is fresh water. The river water by the sea is mostly salty due to the backflow of sea water. With such a large mountain range and a lot of rain here, there must be streams. The streams on the mountains flow down. Let’s build a few more ponds to store water, and there will be no shortage of water sources. gone."

Chen Xuan watched for a while, then pointed to the east and said, "There is a large piece of flat land on the east side. If you tidy it up, you may be able to plant rice. Let's go back and see if there is any place for farming. The captured slave soldiers, Drive them to contribute to the construction of the fort, and then you can give them freedom to become common people and go to the east to farm.

After he finished speaking, he said cheerfully: "The 'envoy city' of the Ming Dynasty here, the Tunpu was chosen here, what does the prince think?"

Wang Jinghong said: "It sounds good, so I will follow Marshal Chen's opinion."

The eunuch Wang Jinghong pondered for a moment, and his expression became serious: "However, Marshal Chen wants to withdraw from Chenla Kingdom immediately and mobilize the main force to go south to attack Mancijia Kingdom. Is there any risk?" He asked, and looked around again. The civil and martial arts are intended to let everyone give their opinions.

The deputy envoys Hou Xian and Wang Jinghong were on the same nose, so of course they cooperated very well at this time. Hou Xian immediately said: "Now it is November, and it is less than three months until the end of the cool season. From Saigon Bay to Mancijia Kingdom There are still thousands of miles of sea roads; before the end of the cool season, it is still a matter of whether we can go to the place. If we set off in a hurry, the water in Chenla has not been confiscated, and if we go to Mancijia and cannot fight, isn’t it a waste of worry? For a while?"

Before Hou Xian's words fell, Chen Xuan immediately took over and said, "Even in the hot season, we can send troops, but the weather is not so comfortable."

"I'm afraid of encountering an epidemic." Hou Xian muttered calmly.

Chen Xuan has nothing to say, this kind of thing is invisible and intangible, who can guarantee it completely?

The two eunuchs looked at each other, Hou Xian said again: "Although the Zhenla army has been defeated, there are still a lot of troops left, so what should we do if we regroup in time and come to attack our stronghold here?"

Chen Xuan said: "The guards of the officers and soldiers can rely on the fortress and wait for help."

Hou Xian asked: "What if they come again before the fort is repaired? If our main force wants to attack Mancijia, we have to consider the food and fodder of the defenders. There are not many troops left."

Chen Xuan said: "The fortification of the ditch wall was completed within ten days."

Wang Jinghong spoke again: "What Marshal Chen said is not unreasonable. Our family is just for the sake of prudence, and we are worried that the Marshal is eager to make contributions, and there will be omissions in his impatience."

Chen Xuan took a breath, and said in a slow tone: "This general's proposition is just like this, and I haven't wavered in the slightest. But then again, this general can only make suggestions, and Eunuch Wang has to say the last word."

After hearing this, Wang Jinghong also said meaningfully: "In normal times, our family will try to obey Marshal Chen's wishes as much as possible. It is about combat, and it should be the most appropriate."

Chen Xuan didn't say much about it anymore, so he said something else: "Let's write a good report and send a warship back first, so that the Holy One will be happy as soon as possible." He paused and said, "The ship has arrived. Songtaiwei in Annan Country will be able to land. Jiebao changed to go back to Beijing by land. From Songtaiwei to the border of Daming, there are complete post roads and official shops. Hurry up and hurry up, much faster than the sea route.”

Wang Jinghong nodded immediately: "What Marshal Chen said is absolutely true."

Chen Xuan thought about how to write the victory report. Starting from the afternoon of October 27, within two days, the navy and army of the coalition forces were defeated one after another.When he thought of this, the emotions that had calmed down a little bit before were ignited again, and he couldn't help being excited.

"Actually, the people of Chenla have been scared out of their wits for a long time. They don't dare to be enemies with the Ming Dynasty's army anymore." Chen Xuan spoke again, striving for the final decision.