Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 154 The war is coming
"The tribes of Wuliangha came with troops. Now they have occupied Zhaozhou and crossed the Nen River to Jilin!"

"What did you say?!"

Zhu Gaoxu was the first to react and stepped forward to help him up.

Zhang Chun, who was slow to the side, asked eagerly: "Isn't Wu Liangha kowtow at the Quaning Guard? Why are you here in Zhaozhou?"

"We don't know either. We only know that when we arrived in Zhaozhou, Wu Liangha had already arrived in large numbers." The soldiers were flattered by Zhu Gaoxu's move to support him, and continued to report:

"Lin Qianhu led the navy to return, and now it is less than forty miles away from Jilin City."

"Half of the tribes in the six cities came to Jilin City on foot, and the remaining cities in Fotijin closed their cities to defend themselves."

"Lin Qianhu asked the bidder to hurry up and report the news. Calculating the time, Wu Liangha's army is probably less than [-] miles away from Jilin City."

Standing on the corridor, Zhu Gaoxu's ears were filled with the sound of the band playing.

But despite this, he still listened to the military information reported by the soldiers and was enlightened.

"Your Highness, the military situation is urgent, but your marriage is also important."

Zhang Chun saw that Zhu Gaoxu didn't speak for a long time, then he immediately bowed and said: "General, I will send troops to Jixi Fort to prepare the border right now. You can get married with peace of mind."

After he finished speaking, before Zhu Gaoxu could refute, he walked towards the front yard, preparing to dispatch troops to garrison at Jixi Fort, but Zhu Gaoxu raised his hand and caught him.

Zhang Chun turned around nervously, only to see Zhu Gaoxu silent.

After a while, he patted the soldier on the shoulder and said comfortingly: "It was hard on the way here. I'll find a place to sit down and eat the banquet."

"Yes..." The soldier bowed nervously, stood up and left carefully.

Seeing him leaving, Zhu Gaoxu let go of Zhang Chun's arm and briefly analyzed the situation:
"Currently, there are less than 1000 old soldiers in the city. Even if you count the [-] people planned, it's only [-]."

"But we still have more than 600 newly arrived military households and more than 1000 Jurchen retinues." Zhang Chun thought of the more than 600 military households that had arrived before.

However, regarding his thoughts, Zhu Gaoxu shook his head and asked: "How many of these more than 1000 people have been on the battlefield? In other words, how many of them have been soldiers?"

These two questions of his stopped Zhang Chun.

Seeing that Zhang Chun couldn't say anything, Zhu Gaoxu thought about it.

Although he did not expect Wu Liangha to abandon Quan Ning and come to Jilin, it was not surprising if he thought about it carefully.

Wu Liangha was originally going to join the invaders this year, and the goal of joining the invaders was to steal money, food, and craftsmen.

Now that he has killed Xiyang Ha, he is also planning to build a city in Zhaozhou. In addition, the current Jilin City is richer than Quaningwei and has not as many soldiers and horses as Quaningwei.

In comparison, it is better to attack the Quanning Guards, which is supported by Daning and has 2000 soldiers and horses stationed there, than to attack Jilin City, which is only garrisoned by [-] people, not to mention that Jilin City is currently isolated and helpless.

"Fortunately..." Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but feel happy. If Zhou Ding hadn't escorted the grain and grass today, Jilin City would really have had to use hundreds of soldiers and thousands of untrained men to fight against tens of thousands of Wu. Good luck.

After sorting out all the information, Zhu Gaoxu also began to make arrangements for the upcoming war.

"The wedding will go ahead as usual, but I want you to go find Zhou Ding immediately after the canonization of the princess."

"First, ask Zhou Ding whether any of the more than [-] military households have served in the army. Whether the civilian households were organized into military households or the military households were relocated."

"Second, ask Zhou Ding how many troops there are in his headquarters, and tell him about Wu Liangha's invasion of Japan."

"If Zhou Ding learns that Wu Liangha wants to return to Liaodong after joining the invaders, ask him to leave his troops and horses behind and give him more than ten people to escort him back to the south."

"If Zhou Ding calmly asks me if I know about this matter, then you can ask him to gather troops and go to Jixi Fort to garrison."

"After we reinforced Jixi Fort last year, it has now become the gateway to Jilin. As long as Jixi Fort is defended, the enemy can be blocked from Jilin. Jilin can still farm, thus delaying time."

Zhu Gaoxu made the first-hand arrangement, which was to obtain the military power from Zhou Ding.

After making this arrangement, he immediately continued to Zhang Chun: "After finding Zhou Ding, you immediately ask Yishiha to send people to go south through the mountain road to Liaodong to ask for help, and then ask Yishiha to go to Jixi Fort to receive the troops from the six cities. After calculating the number of Jurchen tribes in the land, how many people there are, and then calculating how long the food in the treasury will be enough to last."

Wu Liangha's invasion of Japan was an extremely dangerous challenge for Zhu Gaoxu, but danger and opportunity coexisted.

The small and medium-sized tribes in the Six Cities Land fled to Jilin City one after another, and he took advantage of this moment to receive their weapons and eat a large number of Jurchens in one go.

As long as the above things can be done in an orderly manner, Jilin City can produce at least two thousand old soldiers and nearly ten thousand men.

Under such a situation, a small number of troops and a large number of men could be stationed at Jixi Fort, while he could lead his elite troops to ambush in Hada Ridge south of Jixi Fort.

As long as Wu Liangha didn't want to attack the city, or if he wanted to attack the city at the minimum cost, he had to leave his horses and go to Hadaling.

The Mongols are not good at fighting in the mountains and forests, but the old soldiers and Jurchens in their hands are good at fighting in the mountains and forests.

As long as they leave their horses and go to Hadal Ridge, they can gain something and then force them back.

"Yes! The last general will do it!"

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu could arrange everything in a short time, Zhang Chun was stunned at first, but after he realized what he was doing, he bowed in return with relief, turned around and walked out of the corridor.

Seeing him leave, Zhu Gaoxu relaxed a little and frowned slightly.

It is impossible to say that Wu Liangha's invasion this time was not under great pressure. He was able to defeat Xiyang Ha earlier only because Xiyang Ha misjudged the number of his own troops and mistakenly believed that he was the vanguard of the Ming army, and then abandoned the city wall. , giving up the geographical advantage.

Coupled with Fu Rang's successful ambush, Xiyang Ha mobilized most of his troops to Hu La Wen Fort, and he was able to successfully defeat Xiyang Ha, who had less than two thousand soldiers.

But now, tens of thousands of Uliangha cavalry are attacking, but he only has 2000 soldiers in his hands.

Although the Ming army was brave and good at fighting, he himself had no answer as to whether he could defeat Wu Liangha.

"Alas..." After a long sigh, Zhu Gaoxu walked out of the corridor after sorting out his mood.

When he came to the front yard, everyone in the front yard was busy waiting for the wedding to take place.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu's arrival, everyone stood up and bowed to him, singing "Your Highness" with a smile.

Looking at the faces, no matter how heavy Zhu Gaoxu's mood was, he still managed to smile and salute in return: "Everyone has eaten well, and I won't drink any alcohol today."

"Uh? Yes..." Everyone was stunned when they heard Zhu Gaoxu's words that he was not allowed to drink, but their long-term obedience made them agree.

They didn't think deeply about it, after all, Jilin City was in full swing outside the customs at the moment.

Yishi walked up to Zhu Gaoxu with a smile and said that he still didn't know what happened. Zhu Gaoxu didn't remind him about it. After all, Zhang Chun would tell him later, so he just nodded to show that he knew.

Soon, the orchestra changed the music, and the Guo daughter in the side room also walked to the entrance of the main hall under the guidance of two maids.

She covered her face with a round fan and wore a phoenix crown and harem and long sleeves.

But for Zhu Gaoxu, the height difference between the two meant that he could clearly see the appearance of Guo's daughter just by lowering his head.

Perhaps because he had seen too much about makeup magic in later generations, Zhu Gaoxu liked a little girl like Guo who had light makeup and pretty appearance.

The only thing that dissatisfied him was that Guo's daughter was 13 years old.

Compared to his calmness, Guo's daughter, the two maids, and the rest of Zhou Ding and others who had never seen Zhu Gaoxu were shocked by him.

Although a six-foot figure is rare, it is not uncommon in the army. However, most of the men in the army who are over six feet tall are plain or even rough-looking. They are not like Zhu Gaoxu, who has a high nose, broad face, sword-shaped eyebrows and long eyes.

He is not handsome, at least not as handsome as Xu Huizu, Zhu Yunwen, and Li Jinglong, but these three people together do not have the same temperament and momentum as him.

"Enter the palace..."

While Zhou Ding and others were distracted, Yi Shiha, who kept smiling, saw the two protagonists appearing and sang a ceremony to send them into the palace.

Normally, when a county prince like Zhu Gaoxu marries a wife, he needs to prepare at least a throne, a plan, a plan, a cup of tea, a colorful carriage, etc.

In addition, the royal officials are also responsible for placing the gifts sent by local officials on the steps of the main hall where the wedding is held.

When dawn comes, Zhu Gaoxu needs to put on his royal robes and sit down, and officials from the royal palace and fiefdoms need to wear court robes to salute.

The work of getting married is done by the chief and deputy envoys. The chief and deputy envoys need to kowtow to Zhu Gaoxu four times first, then take the preparation and adjudication case and go out from the middle door of the hall, followed by the betrothal gift.

However, because the Bohai Palace is too small and Jilin City does not have so many things, the steps that should be saved and deleted were deleted, making the entire wedding extremely simple.

"Inheriting the order of heaven alone, I admire the grand plan. The way of running a country is based on the integrity of the family. The relationship between husband and wife, the meaning of the universe..."

It was Zhou Ding who read the wedding speech. After he finished reading the complicated wedding speech of hundreds of words, two maidservants appeared holding a wooden tray holding a crown of nine dragons and four phoenixes.

"As high as the crown..."

When Zhou Ding sang the ceremony, Yi Shiha walked up to Zhu Gaoxu and his wife, took off their crowns with his own hands, and put the crowns and the Nine Dragons and Four Phoenix crowns on their heads.

"Your Highness and Princess, please come inside..."

After everything was done, Yi Shiha signaled that they could salute each other, and Zhu Gaoxu and Guo's daughter also began to salute each other as husband and wife.

After the ceremony, Zhu Gaoxu and Guo's daughter took over the precious seal from the hands of two golden girls who did not know where Yi Shiha recruited them. This also meant that the ceremony was completed.

However, after the ceremony is completed, they still need to go through some tedious procedures.

For example, after the canonization ceremony was over, Zhu Gaoxu and Guo's daughter held red satin and walked to the family temple to pay homage to Zhu Chuyi and Zhu Wusi in the family temple.

After paying their respects, it stands to reason that the couple would get on the elephant chariot and then circle the city.

However, this tedious step was also canceled by Zhu Gaoxu. After all, the people in the city were having a long banquet at the moment. If the elephant trains were to pass, they would have to go to war.

Rather than taking Guo's daughter around the city, it would be more practical to treat the people to meat.

"Please invite the princess to take charge of the third palace..."

Under Yi Shiha's singing ceremony, Guo's daughter, who officially became the Princess of Bohai, was taken to the harem by two maids.

At the same time, the soldiers in the rear palace were also replaced by the dozen or so guards brought by Guo's daughter.It was only now that Zhu Gaoxu knew that the more than ten guards were not sent by the Wuding Hou Mansion, but eunuchs sent by Lao Zhu.

They will serve as the royal palace's pure army and protect the palace.

Zhu Gaoxu personally didn't like eunuchs. He didn't hate the eunuchs themselves, but he hated the eunuch system.

For him, maids are better than eunuchs, but he can't change the status quo for the time being.

"Your Highness..."

Seeing that the wedding was over, Zhou Ding appeared next to Zhu Gaoxu with a solemn expression. He obviously learned about Wu Liangha's invasion of the bandits from Zhang Chun.

Zhou Ding has a resolute appearance and seems to be a man of steel. In addition, his father is Zhou Xing. Zhu Gaoxu thought that he would choose to stay, but he didn't want him to bow in shame:

"When the northern invaders invaded, the general is willing to leave his troops and horses to defend the city, and lead his followers southward on a small road to seek help!"

"Go ahead..." Zhu Gaoxu was a little disappointed and sighed in his heart; "Sure enough, it's not possible to judge a book by its appearance."

"Thank you, Your Highness, I will retire!" Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu agreed, Zhou Ding hurriedly left the palace with his entourage as if he was afraid that he would regret it.

Looking at his leaving figure, Zhu Gaoxu finally understood why a fierce man like Zhou Xing was lost in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

In the final analysis, no one will inherit his mantle, which means that the family is in decline.

This Zhou Ding, even with Zhou Xing's help, could only climb to the level of commander, and there were hundreds of commanders in the Ming Dynasty.

"Your Highness..."

Following Zhou Ding, Yishiha and the officials from hundreds of households in the mansion came together one after another. Their eyes showed confusion and nervousness. Zhu Gaoxu also smiled and reassured:
"Don't worry, Zhang Chun has already mobilized Zhou Ding's troops. Before, we used a thousand people to defeat thousands of old slaves. Now we use 2000 people to defend more than [-] people."

"Besides, don't forget that there are more than a thousand Jurchen retinues and military men in the city."

"3000 people are guarding 1 people. Don't you have confidence?"

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and asked everyone that he never put pressure on the generals in front of them, so no matter what situation he faced, he mostly smiled.

"Your Highness, don't worry. We are in front of you. Don't worry, you can have your wedding at the back!"

"Hahaha……"

I don't know who said this in the crowd, and everyone burst into laughter.

Zhu Gaoxu was also a little embarrassed, but he still coughed and said, "I have already given instructions to Zhang Chun for all the things that need to be arranged. Just listen to him."

"As for the war, if Jixi Fort is destroyed, what's the use of marrying more princesses?"

"As soon as the war begins, you will see me guarding Jixi Fort with you!"

After clarifying his attitude, Zhu Gaoxu looked at Yi Shiha: "The current problem is the amount of food. You are going to settle the Jurchen tribes who have fled south, and calculate how many days there will be enough food."

"Whether I am fishing from the water or slaughtering livestock, I must hold on until Wu Liangha retreats!"

"Yes!" Yishiha straightened his back and responded loudly.

Seeing that everyone had regained their confidence, Zhu Gaoxu also shouted: "Let's eat!"

As soon as he spoke, everyone walked out. Everyone returned to their seats. Zhu Gaoxu also sat down and looked at his wedding banquet.

On the dining table, there are various meats such as chicken, duck, fish, sheep, and pig, and several plates of vegetables such as vegetables and cabbage are also placed.

There weren't many words, as if they knew the war was coming, everyone started eating, and no one mentioned drinking.

Although Zhu Gaoxu asked them to relax, they all ate very quickly. After eating in silence for a quarter of an hour, they all stood up and said goodbye to Zhu Gaoxu with a smile.

Within a quarter of an hour, except for the band playing gongs and drums and Zhu Gaoxu, there was no one else in the house, and Yi Shiha didn't know where he had gone.

After rinsing his mouth briefly, Zhu Gaoxu walked to the backyard.

The main room in the backyard, which Zhu Gaoxu called the Cunxin Hall, was not big. Two Jing soldiers were guarding the door. After Zhu Gaoxu entered, they closed the door.

The house was decorated with lights, red candles and red lanterns, as well as various red paper-cuts and red satin.

The bed where he usually rested was replaced by a Babu bed, with two maids standing next to it and Guo's daughter sitting in it.

The two maids, who were one year younger than Zhu Gaoxu, had red faces, but Guo's daughter had a hijab on her head, so her expression could not be seen.

Zhu Gaoxu walked inside, and every step he took seemed to affect the hearts of the three women.

He walked into the Babu bed, sat down, and used the jade Ruyi gifted by Lao Zhu to lift the Guo family's daughter's hijab.

To be honest, Guo's daughter is very good-looking and Zhu Gaojiu likes her very much. However, because she is too young, Zhu Gaoxu doesn't have that kind of animal lust for her.

Originally, he thought that he could let two maids sleep with him and let out the desires he had accumulated for several years, but Wu Liang and the invaders interrupted this matter.

After taking off his hijab, Zhu Gaoxu did not continue living as a normal couple. Instead, he told Guo's daughter: "The Wuliangha have invaded and are coming to our side."

"Ah?" When she heard that Wu Liang had invaded, the first person to speak out in fright was not Guo's daughter, but the two maids who were three years older than her.

The Guo daughter was very calm. Although she was very young, she grabbed Zhu Gaoxu's hand in a sensible manner.

"Before I went north, Aweng told me that Jilin is located outside the Great Wall, where it is bitterly cold and wars occur frequently. I asked you not to delay your highness at the critical moment."

"Although it is said that husband and wife should sleep together on the wedding night and spend the night together, the war is ahead. If His Highness needs to leave, there is no need to take care of the concubines and just go and do the husband's thing."

After all, she was from the Wuding Marquis Mansion. The Guo daughter calmly talked about the instructions Guo Ying gave her before she got married. Zhu Gaoxu didn't know what he felt after hearing this, or he didn't feel it at all.

Since the night when Fu Youde passed away, his emotions have become a little indifferent. Now facing Guo's daughter's words, he found that Guo's daughter was surprisingly considerate, but he had nothing to say that moved her.

He stretched out his hand to take Guo's daughter's hand away, and comforted him softly: "Don't worry, I'll be back in a few days. Some soldiers can't do anything to me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Gaoxu stood up and prepared to change clothes.

Instead, he walked to the closet, and the two maids quickly walked forward and opened the closet for him, asking him which piece of clothing he wanted.

"It's cold at night, so grab something thick."

Zhu Gaoxu said, and raised his hand as he remembered when he was in Prince Yan's Mansion.

The two maids undressed him and found a red fat coat for him to put on. They also asked the two soldiers at the door to put on the saddle for the war horse. They themselves put on the breastplate for Zhu Gaoxu and put on the bright red coat. A was handed over to the two pure soldiers.

"I'm leaving. You should rest early tonight. I'm afraid I'll have to go for a few days."

Standing at the door, Zhu Gaoxu was talking to Guo's daughter who got up and came to see him off. Guo's daughter didn't say anything after hearing this. She just bowed and added: "My concubine's name is Guo Yan. I hope that your highness will return your favor when he comes back." Remember."

Guo Yan seemed to be explaining an ordinary matter, but it gave Zhu Gaoxu the feeling of being talked about while traveling far away.

"Don't worry, I remember." Without saying much, Zhu Gaoxu walked out of the back house while it was still dawn.

In the back alley, two soldiers were already waiting for him to mount his horse, holding his weapons and armor. Without any delay, Zhu Gaoxu dismounted and rode Chi Huan towards Jixi Fort.

Since the wedding banquet was not over yet and many people were still eating and laughing in the streets, Zhu Gaoxu took a detour to the empty and uninhabited streets and left the city.

In about half an hour, he rode Chi Huan and took two guards to Jixi Fort.

When he arrived, a group of soldiers and horses had just arrived at Jixi Fort.

Zhu Gaoxu took a closer look and saw that it was Zhang Chun who had led the troops before.

At this moment, they had just arrived at Jixi Fort, only one step ahead of themselves.

When he turned over and dismounted, Zhang Chun was also shouting at the Qianhu officers and soldiers of Shenyang Zhongwei to prepare for dinner.

When Zhang Chun came, he asked people to bring fifty stewed muttons, and also asked people to go to Jixi Fort in advance to boil rice and boiling water.

As soon as they arrived, Zhang Chun asked people to pour the cooked mutton into the large pot. More than 2000 kilograms of mutton were put into boiling water, and some salt was added to make it an extremely delicious meat.

Many officers and soldiers lined up waiting to be assigned. Zhu Gaoxu greeted Zhang Chun and went up to the archery tower of Jixi Fort with him.

Standing on the arrow tower, you can take in the Hadal Ridge to the southwest and the Songhua River to the northeast.

Compared with the appearance when Zhu Gaoxu and others came, at this time, Jixi Fort has been expanded into a 'Great Wall' between Hadaling and Songhua River with the joint efforts of large numbers of people, strength and cement.

A city wall made of rammed earth on the inside and gravel and cement on the outside was built between six cement stone forts, each fifty steps in length and width.

The city wall between the six stone forts is an average of a hundred steps long, two feet wide, and two feet high, with a total length of more than one mile and three hundred steps. It connects Hadal Ridge and Songhua River. Eight steps later, the water is about ten feet deep.

Although the Jilin Great Wall is only covered with gravel cement less than two fingers wide, it is more than enough to defend against fishing, hunting and nomadic people.

It stretches from the Songhua River into the hillside of Hadaling Mountains. If you want to bypass it, you must climb Jilin Mountain in the Hadaling Mountains.

There are many woods on Jilin Mountain, making it difficult for horses to climb and easy to set up ambushes.

It can be said that Zhu Gaoxu has been preparing since last year, but he originally thought that he wanted to defend the Liaodong soldiers and horses in the south, but he did not want to use them on Wu Liangha now.

The wind on the river in the northern country is biting, and the flags on the archery towers are ringing.

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhang Chun looked to the north and saw four large ships going upstream. On the distant horizon, many Jurchens who had migrated with their families also appeared.

Looking at this scene, Zhang Chun turned to look at his Highness, only to see that His Highness was looking straight at all this, calm and composed.

Infected by him, Zhang Chun also took a deep breath and looked at everything in front of him that was gradually dimming as the sun set. He was also prepared for it.

"The war is coming again..."

　Busy with work, even a little late
　　
　
(End of this chapter)