golden scales

Luo Yukun walked in the front, followed by Chen Chong, the military training instructor, and Zhu Jiajun, the chief of staff. They looked like they were in no man's land in the palace of the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou.

Since Chongzhen completed the army expansion in 22 years, Luo Yukun has been promoted to the commander of the first mountain army.His two old partners naturally also went up a notch.However, the joy of expanding into an army did not last long. After the first mountain army was transferred from Huguang to Guizhou, Luo Yukun was almost left idle.

In the past few years, there has been almost no battle with more than 500 people in the Southwest. The Zhongzhen Battalion, with an army strength, was displayed on the Yunnan-Guizhou border, and occasionally went to Yunnan to support it, but it has never launched a general attack on Zhang Xianzhong.

Liu Zongmin, as the commander-in-chief of Yunnan, has the seal of General Conquering the South, even Gu Junen, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, can't mobilize him, let alone Luo Yukun is assigned to Liu Zongmin?

Now that more than half of the two years of Longjing have passed, Zhang Xianzhong is still alive and kicking and fleeing between Yunnan and Burma. Although the losses are increasing day by day, there is no sign of his extinction.Jin Yiwei sent five or seven waves of people to assassinate Zhang Xianzhong, but nothing came of it.

Seeing that others were rewarded for their meritorious deeds, while he himself practiced and trained every day, many recruits could only eliminate disobedient chieftains and bandits to gain combat experience, which really made Luo Yukun feel very depressed.

Today, Gu Jun'en invited Luo Yukun to the governor's office, saying that he was discussing the military affairs, but Luo Yukun didn't have much hope.

It wasn't until he entered the governor's tent and saw Liu Zongmin present that Luo Yukun felt a little interesting.

Seeing the three members of the First Mountain Army taking their seats, Liu Zongmin and Gu Junen looked at each other, and Gu Junen just laughed and said: "General Luo is impatient these days."

"That's right," Luo Yukun said unceremoniously, "Your Majesty has taken out all the money in your pocket, and I will wait for the king's salary. I feel really guilty for not being able to relieve your worries."

Gu Junen said with a smile: "In the past, Ma Yuanma Fubo gathered rice as a mountain to guide the battle and relieve the worries of Guangwu. Today we should also follow Fubo's example and solve the southwestern worries for your lord."

Luo Yukun sneered and said, "I don't study much, so don't forgive me."

"Ma Fubo is a flat cochin. It would be nice if we can stabilize Yunnan first." Zhu Jiajun also said.

Gu Junen let them vent their grievances, and only smiled and raised his voice: "Show me the sand table."

Seven or eight soldiers from the governor's standard battalion quickly came in with four square tables and put them together in the middle of the big tent.Just looking at this posture, the sand table must not be small.

Luo Yukun was disdainful in his heart, and said: "The military sect only focuses on the grand strategy, so there is no need for such a clear sand table."

"It's too small to fit." Gu Junen said with a smile.

After a while, two soldiers came in from outside, raised the curtain to open the way, and five or six strong men came in.He came in with a huge sand table and carefully placed it on the table.

"Please look, general." Gu Junen waved his sleeves and made a gesture of invitation.

Luo Yukun and Zhu Jiajun leaned forward, but they were surprised at first glance.

Such a large sand table is not detailed to one state and one county, but because the area covered is too large.

Kunming is only a red flag on this sand table, and even the city wall cannot be seen.

This is a vast area with a circumference of eight thousand miles, including southern Yunnan and western Guangxi.North of Annan, half of Laos.And northeast Myanmar.

The entire sand table is exquisitely crafted, and the craftsmen on the side poured water on it, and the mountains and rivers are immediately clear, like a bird's-eye view.

"What's the meaning of Junmen?" Luo Yukun frowned.

Gu Junen smiled and said: "For 21 years since Chongzhen, our army has been spending time with the thieves. It seems that the fighting spirit is weak. In fact, we have sent people secretly to go deep into the barren, and describe the mountains, rivers and valleys of various places into books and make sand tables. In the past few years The results of the battle are in front of your eyes."

Zhu Jiajun still had a straight face.Said: "Just relying on a sand table, I'm afraid it can't be called a battle result."

Gu Junen still smiled unabated, and said: "General, look at the rice grains on this sand table."

There are indeed many rice grains on the sand table, and one of them went south from Kunming to Dongguan County, the capital of Jiaozhou, which is now "Tokyo" in the Le Dynasty and Hanoi in later generations.

Gu Junen's so-called "war results" are not the sand table itself, but the information carried on the sand table.

Both Guangxi and Yunnan can enter Vietnam, and the road in Yunnan is like grains of rice on the sand table.

"Where there is a grain of rice, it is a chieftain village that can replenish food and grass. The geography along the way has been mapped out, and the chieftains, prefectures and counties in these places have also been properly arranged, mutual knowledge and trust." Gu Junen got up and walked to the sand table, He took a deep breath: "In the past three years, I have been thinking about calming down the Southwest every day, in order to repay the kindness of the Holy Son of Heaven!"

Liu Zongmin had already seen the sand table, and now he stepped forward and said: "As long as you follow this grain road, the army can go straight to the border of Annan. Once you reach Annan, you can get grain on the spot."

Although Luo Yukun was a little shocked, he wasn't so frightened.He said: "I just want to ask: Why didn't Wen Yi of the Ministry of War mention the fight against Annan?"

Gu Junen smiled slightly, took out his own imperial edict, pointed to the cliché behind the official title "all the thieves and civilians in the Southwest Ping can do things cheaply", and said: "This is a cheap thing to do to wipe out the thieves and restore the peace of the Southwest."

"No matter how cheap it is, it can't be cheaper than Annan?" Luo Yukun was quite puzzled.

Zhu Jiajun carefully looked at the sand table, raised his head and said, "Do you want to occupy Annan first, and then send troops westward to cut off the thieves' retreat from Burma?"

The reason why Zhang Xianzhong has been able to survive to this day cannot be ignored in the rear of Myanmar.Ever since they left the Ming court to stand on their own, they have never given up the idea of ​​eroding Yunnan, and they are even more willing to take advantage of the civil strife in Ming Dynasty to fish in troubled waters.On the one hand, he made false claims to the Ming army, and on the other hand, he sold information to Zhang Xianzhong and provided him with various conveniences.

It was precisely after realizing this point that Liu Zongmin and Gu Jun'en followed suit and dealt with things positively, as if they were raising their own self-respect, and also like the incense friendship of fellow refugees.Behind these smoke bombs, it was Gu Junen who sent spies to thoroughly grasp a large amount of information on the Indochina Peninsula, conquer the chieftains of various caves in southern Yunnan, and use their titles to sow dissension and divide them. They did everything possible.

"The Holy Son of Heaven has already sat firmly in the country, and it is useless to increase the killing." Gu Junen said: "I decided to take Annan first, go straight to Siam through Chenla, and finally take Burma, besiege the thieves, and disarm the rebellious soldiers and return to the peasants. This is exactly where Wang Hua is, and it is also the way for my Ming Dynasty to maintain long-term stability in this place."

Liu Zongmin was worried that Luo Yukun was eager to ask for credit, so he persuaded: "There is no rush for national affairs. Although this method is slower, it will work for 300 years."

Luo Yukun nodded: "It is always a good thing to be able to expand the territory, not to mention that Annan and other countries are big granaries. The key is that this strategy is too long. Do we have to wait for the thief to die of old age?"

Gu Junen turned around and snickered, thinking to himself: It would be even better if this is the case!

Liu Zongmin said: "It only took a year for the British to secure the entire territory of Annan fairly and defeat its 700 million army. Now our army is well-fed and well-trained, not inferior to the soldiers at the beginning of the country. The firearms are sharp and the armor is strong. , even more victorious. Looking at Annan, the Zheng family in the north held Master Li and fought against the Ruan family in the south. What face do you have to meet your ancestors?"

Gu Junen also said: "Annan is the overlord of the Southwestern barbarians. As long as Annan is settled, Champa, Chenla, and Siam will no longer have the heart to resist."

Luo Yukun made sense after thinking about it, nodded slightly, and said: "If you say it like this, it won't take long. Not only can the bandits be calmed down beautifully, but also the old land of Chengzu can be restored by the way, and even the military might be declared abroad."

Gu Junen and Liu Zongmin nodded.

"Now comes the problem," Luo Yukun took a breath, "Does Your Majesty know about such a grand strategy?"

Gu Junen smiled.

After all, this lucky general is still too young and too simple.

There are many things that the emperor must know, but the fact that "the emperor knows" itself cannot be known to outsiders.

No matter how much Zhu Cihong trusted Gu Junen and Liu Zongmin, and how assured he was of the Zhongzhen Camp, the ten-man regiment in the army was indispensable.

Yushi, Jinyiwei, and Dongchang in Yunnan and Guizhou are not vegetarians either.

For three years, Gu Jun Enming cultivated the base way and kept Chencang secretly, and His Majesty the Emperor never issued a single edict, which more or less shows that he already knew about his work and recognized it very much.However, arbitrarily provoking frontier quarrels, destroying people's ancestral temples, and sacrificing people... Even the emperor himself cannot do this kind of thing, and he has to face the courtiers, and he is likely to bear the responsibility for the defeat.

In this case, the best way is to let the subordinates do it, and everyone will be happy if it is done well, and they will be promoted and rich.It doesn't matter if you can't do it well, anyway, the emperor stands cleanly on the shore, and there is still room for change when the time comes when the time comes to extrajudicial favors.At worst, Gu Junen and Liu Zongmin will be accused of "poor talent and unfavorable reputation", and they will just retire in another place.

"Do it cheaply, could it be that the general's big seal can't move you!" Liu Zongmin turned his face.

Luo Yukun's face was livid, and he asked: "If the bandits attack Kunming when our army is heading south, what should we do?"

"Yunnan Defense has its own Mountain Second Army in charge, and you just obey the military order." Gu Junen said.

The second mountain army was formed by mountain people recruited from Sichuan and Guizhou. It has not fought a tough battle since it became an army, and its status is the lowest among the three armies in the Southwest.

Luo Yukun kept a straight face and said nothing, neither disobeying orders nor accepting, just standing and looking at Liu Zongmin.

Chen Chong stepped forward and pulled Luo Yukun's sleeve lightly, and said in a low voice: "If you have a different opinion from Shangfeng, you should obey orders first."

Luo Yukun shook off Chen Chong's hand heavily, turned around and strode out.

Zhu Jiajun and Chen Chong saw that their master had turned against him, so they followed him out.

Gu Junen looked at the backs of Luo Yukun and the others, sighed, and said, "They still can't trust us after all."

Liu Zongmin also showed helplessness, and said: "Even so, he has to execute the military order! Otherwise, the military law is ruthless!"

"I'm just worried that if he exposes the matter, he will not only startle the snake, but also embarrass His Majesty." Gu Junen said.

"He's too late." Liu Zongmin smiled: "I'm going to send troops now."

The northern part of Annan has a similar climate to Guangxi and Yunnan, and winter clothes are also required in winter.In the south, the four seasons are like spring and summer, and you can survive the winter with just one coat.If Tokyo is captured in autumn and troops go south immediately, the burden of transporting winter clothes can be avoided. (To be continued..)

ps: Ask for a recommendation ticket, ask for a monthly ticket~~!