My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 962: Ahead is the Tumu Fort

The carriages and horses were rustling, and the dust was thick. On the official road east of Xuanfu, a large-scale Ming army was marching slowly under the scorching sun.

Zhang Fu sat on the carriage and kept looking outside anxiously. The death of the Wu Kezhong brothers in the battle had further lowered the morale of the entire army, and soldiers continued to flee at night.

To make matters worse, even God seemed to be working against them. When they went out for the expedition, they encountered continuous rain, which made the road muddy. Now that they were returning, the sky finally cleared up, but the August sun looked like a Like a big fireball, it was scorching the earth all the time.

The originally muddy road was turned into uneven hard mud in just one day. It did not affect the people and horses much, but the vehicles were bumpy when walking on this kind of road. Zhang Fu felt that his heart was about to be knocked out. .

However, compared to the problem of the road, Zhang Fu is now more worried about the Wala chasing troops in the rear. Since he also destroyed the Wu brothers' army first, they have been hanging far behind and seem to be in no rush to attack.

But the more this happened, the more worried Zhang Fu became, because after the Wu brothers' entire army was wiped out, they must have seen the weakness of the Ming army. Now that he is not in a hurry to attack, he must be looking for a better opportunity to attack The Ming army inflicted more damage.

But Zhang Fu knew very well that with the current state of the Ming army, perhaps the Wala people would only need one charge to collapse the army of hundreds of thousands on the spot, because the morale of the army had long been lost, not to mention others, even veteran generals like Zhang Fu , and are equally unwilling to work for Zhu Qizhen anymore.

What Zhang Fu is most worried about now is actually the safety of these hundreds of thousands of troops. After all, these are already the elites of the Ming Dynasty. If they are really defeated by Ye Xian, then he will send his troops south first. The capital is now empty. The force is likely to be taken down by the opponent in one fell swoop.

If the Ming Dynasty even loses its capital to its enemies, what is the difference between it and the country's subjugation? The tragedy of the Jingkang period of the Northern Song Dynasty may be repeated, and this is already the best result. If it is more serious, the Ming Dynasty may simply disappear. , when the grassland people once again take over the Central Plains, the Han people will once again fall into the hands of foreigners.

Thinking of the above, Zhang Fu was also heartbroken, but he couldn't do anything.

When they arrived at Xuanfu, Zhang Fu and other ministers continued to write to Zhu Qi in the town, hoping that he could stay in Xuanfu, but the other party did not listen at all. After leaving Xuanfu, Zhang Fu and the others never went to school again. Book, because they all know that the army's last chance has been lost, and the initiative is completely in Ye Xian's hands.

Now Zhang Fu's only hope is to be frightened by the number of Ming troops and not dare to attack easily. At the same time, the Ming troops must also speed up. As long as they can get to Huailai County, which is only a few dozen miles away from Juyong Pass, it only takes half a day. can arrive, and at the same time, the defenders in the pass can also come out to support at any time.

Therefore, as long as they reach Huailai County, most of the army will be safe.

But now the advance of the army is extremely slow. On the one hand, the weather is too hot, and the soldiers have a hard time traveling under the scorching sun. In addition, due to the lack of food and supplies, many soldiers are suffering from hunger and thirst, and naturally they cannot move faster.

On the other hand, Zhu Qizhen and Wang Zhen did not urge the army to speed up at all, because Wang Zhen felt that if they walked too fast, the Wala people in the rear would see the truth and attack them, so it was better to walk slowly and let the Wala people People can't figure out the details of the army.

This idea cannot be said to be completely unreasonable, but if it was before the defeat of the Wu Kezhong brothers, this method might have some effect. But now that tens of thousands of elite troops have been wiped out, the Wala people may have seen through the reality of the Ming army long ago, and then use This method will have no effect at all except making the Wala people laugh.

"Master, drink some water!"

At this moment, a steward brought a water bag with both hands and said to Zhang Fu.

Zhang Fu took it and took a sip. Then he saw the steward's lips were chapped. He immediately frowned, handed the water bag to the steward and said, "You drink too!"

"The villain... The villain has already drank, sir, you don't have to worry!" The steward licked his lips, but still managed a smile and replied.

"to be frank!"

Zhang Fu's face darkened. This steward had been following him for many years and he should know that what he disliked the most was his subordinates deceiving him.

Seeing that Zhang Fu was angry, the steward did not dare to lie anymore, and immediately explained: "Master, calm down, the weather is too hot, the army's drinking water is consumed very quickly, and each battalion is very nervous about drinking water. This is our last bag." I don’t know if there will be new water distribution at night, so the brothers are reluctant to drink it.”

"Can't you even guarantee our drinking water?"

Zhang Fu's expression changed greatly when he heard this. You must know that he is the Duke of the country. Although Zhu Qizhen did not allow him to command the army, his status was extremely high, and his daily diet was given priority.

But even Zhang Fu, with his status, only has a bag of water left. In other words, the soldiers below may not be able to get any water.

"Master, further ahead is the Tumu Fort. There is a water source there, so as long as you get there, the drinking water problem will be solved. You don't have to worry too much!"

The steward saw what Zhang Fu was thinking, so he spoke to comfort him.

"Tumu Fort!"

When Zhang Fu heard the name of Tumubao, his face became even uglier because he remembered that the night before the expedition, the mysterious Mr. Jin conveyed a message to Zhu Zhanhe, which was to remind him that he would do it no matter what. Don't enter the earthen fort.

Speaking of which, when they went on an expedition before, they took this route and also camped and rested at Tumubao on the way. Nothing happened at that time, so Zhang Fu ignored Zhu Zhanhe's warning.

But I didn't expect that when the army returned, they would pass through Tumubao again. In addition, there were Oara people intercepting them in the front, and they also led the army to pursue them. Could it be said that they were going to attack the army in Tumubao?
"No, no matter how smart Zhu Zhanhe is, he can't predict the future, right?"

Zhang Fu muttered to himself in confusion at this time, but he soon realized that now was not the time to worry about Zhu Zhanhe's unpredictability, but to warn Zhu Qizhen so that they could prepare in advance and even bypass it. Tumu Fort, march at a faster pace, and it is best to arrive at Huailai County before nightfall. After all, Tumu Fort is only twenty miles away from Huailai County. No matter how slow they go, they can still arrive at night.

Thinking of this, Zhang Fu immediately ordered the steward: "Turn around, I want to see your Majesty!"

"Master, Your Majesty, he..."

The steward looked embarrassed when he heard Zhang Fu's words, because since the expedition, Zhang Fu had asked to see Zhu Qizhen more than once, but most of them refused to see him, and even if they did, they would not listen to Zhang Fu suggestions, so the steward felt that Zhang Fu didn’t need to waste his efforts at all.

(End of this chapter)