In late May, Mr. Li and Sheng Yong and Ping'an jointly wrote a strategy together. Zhu Gaoxu took a look at it roughly and found that it made sense, so he immediately summoned several people to discuss it.

The time was not very appropriate. When Mr. Li sent the file, it was almost the hour of You. When everyone came to the study in the front hall one after another, the sun had just set. However, this was the quietest time of the day.

Yunnan is lush in summer, and the most special place is that there are many insects and birds. During the day, various birds sing in sing, and at night, insects will come out to join in the fun. Even in the Han Palace, you can hear frogs from time to time.

Only when the sun sets, when night falls, birds and insects are screaming magically, and the peace between heaven and earth is extremely tranquil.

When Zhu Gaoxu walked outside the study room of the front hall, he saw that within a hundred steps of the surrounding area, there were soldiers standing in Sichuan, and idle people were not allowed to approach; there were a few swords on a square table outside the study door. He walked into the room and looked back and forth, and it was easy to see that the summoned few people had arrived.

"Mr. Li", Hou Hai, Sheng Yong, Ping An, Wang Bin, a total of five civil and military officials, all of whom were close confidants of the Han Palace. In addition, there was only one eunuch, and Wang Gui stood by. Everyone held their fists and politely.

"No." Zhu Gaoxu casually clasped his fists and said. He glanced at the large desk in the middle of the study. Several large maps had been arranged on it, and then said: "Let's find a stool next to the table. Let's sit closer to the point, so that you can hear your words clearly, and the map is easy to see."

Everyone thanked each other and sat down around the rectangular table. Zhu Gaoxu sat in the upper position facing the door, and Mr. Li sat opposite him, and the two were very close.

Zhu Gaoxu said directly: "Mr. Li will explain the strategy first."

"Sir, please follow the order." Mr. Li bowed his fists, and he buried his head and looked at the map on the table, clearing his voice quietly.

Mr. Li said slowly: "After the wars in the southwest, the Han Palace actually occupied Yun, Guizhou and Sichuan. There were several roads entering and leaving the southwest, and all of them were rugged and tortuous, making it difficult for the enemy to attack. We do not need to overdo our troops, but it is beneficial to defend the hinterland. After several great victories, we rewarded the soldiers and soldiers, and the officers and soldiers of the crime were also very strong.

However, our army cannot be trapped in the southwest and must go east.

The pseudo-emperors now have a large number of soldiers and horses, and the number is still far better than that of me. According to the detailed reports from the Northern Division of the Guardian Prefecture, the officials believed that the enemy had deployed the Beijing camp in Huguang, and there may be between 400,000 to 500,000 troops in various places; there are more than 100,000 troops in Zhang Fu's army in Guangxi; there are estimated that there are still more than 200,000 to 300,000 elite troops in the capital.

Because before the Guizhou Battle, the enemy was expected to be able to capture Guizhou and wanted to march into Sichuan, the main force of the Huguang army should be in Jingzhou. In addition, the Wu Gao army was in Changde Prefecture; the Huguang Administration and the General Administration Office of the Huguang Administration also deployed many troops and horses. When our army goes east, the enemy troops in the capital may continue to mobilize to Huguang."

Zhu Gaoxu just nodded and said nothing to avoid interrupting Mr. Li.

So Mr. Li continued: "This battle will march south of the Yangtze River, and there are many rivers and lakes in Huguang, Jiangxi and other places. The navy must not be underestimated! The Ming navy all held the hands of the pseudo-emperor, which originated from the Chaohu navy. Now there are thousands of warships and many ships. The battle power is very strong. Except for Chen Xuan surrendering without fighting at the end of the "Jingnan Battle", the Ming navy has never been defeated. It is obvious that with the Sichuan navy, we are definitely not against the enemy navy in the first battle.

The Dajiang (Yangtze River), Dongting Lake, Poyang Lake, Xiangjiang River, Ganjiang River and other waters are all controlled by the enemy.

If the Crime Army cannot compete with the enemy navy on the river surface, it will have almost no chance of winning if it goes east of Sichuan.

Another road to Guizhou and enter Huguang Road and attack Changde Prefecture was also very unfavorable. The road to enter Huguang Road was rugged, and the main force of the Criminal Army was too large, making it inconvenient to transport grain. When our army entered Huguang, we had to face the 100,000 Wu Gao's army who was relying on the city. If we delayed a little time, the enemy would gather from all sides. If the attacking army could not carry out its operation, they could only carry the grain into Huguang Road. If we could not break through, we would fall into a major event.

If we march around Changsha Prefecture and Tanzhou Prefecture, the Xiang River, which is more than one mile wide in the water, is controlled by the enemy navy; the Wu Gao army threatens to enter Huguang Road and cut off the retreat route of the food road. Whether our army crosses the river or not, it will be in a dilemma."

Mr. Li pointed to a line on the map and said, "Therefore, the officials and others discussed and presented the strategy of "based in western Hunan and waiting for an opportunity to fight together."

First, two large armies attacked the Guangxi Administrator's Office, the Yunnan army in the south went to Tiandong, and the Guizhou army in the middle went to Liuzhou Prefecture. Zhang Fu's army headed north to fight, and our army waited for an opportunity to attack Zhang Fu's army. If Zhang Fu's army retreated, the two large armies in Guangxi advanced north to Guilin Prefecture and occupied the third division of Guangxi to mobilize military rations.

Then the northern route marched into Huguang Road, pretending to march into Yuanling and Changde Prefecture; the army reached Chenxi, but turned southeast, and took this route to Baoqing Prefecture and Wugang Prefecture (Shaoyang). At the same time, two large armies in the south advanced north from Guilin Prefecture to meet the northern route army.

By then, the main force of the attacking army occupied the northern part of Guangxi, and to the west of the Xiangjiang River in Huguang, the Xiangxi Provincial Administration Office could be added to manage the west of the Xiangjiang River in Huguang; the three Guilin officials would still command the prefectures in northern Guangxi. The main force of the enemy Huguang Army came, and the prince could lead the army to fight with the enemy! As long as you win a big battle, you can seize the enemy's aura, and the mountains and rivers would block the prince's edge, and you would no longer be able to block the prince's edge!"

Zhu Gaoxu nodded slightly, looked at the rough map thoughtfully, and didn't say anything for a while. Ping An Shengyong also participated in the production strategy, and he must agree. Wang Bin and Hou Hai did not say anything easily. The process was a bit complicated, so they might not be able to understand it immediately.

Zhu Gaoxu was thinking while looking at it, thinking about each step. Mr. Li didn't explain it in detail, but Zhu Gaoxu still roughly understood the relationship.

For example, the strategy of dividing troops to advance east should be to consider the actual problems of roads and supplies. The fewer people on a road, the fewer problems will be caused by marching and transporting grain. From Guizhou east, there are snowy mountains and heavy mountains with large and small barriers, which is not easy to walk.

The Northern Army's feint to march into Changde Mansion may also be seen by the court. If the Huguang reinforcements gathered their main forces first and went south, the Northern Army's strength was weak, so they had to retreat south first and approached the two armies of Guilin Mansion's Central Road South Road.

"I generally agree with the strategy that Mr. Li and others have planned, so I summoned you to discuss it again." Zhu Gaoxu finally spoke, "In comparison, Mr. Li took the doctrine of the mean, which is neither too rush nor too conservative."

Mr. Li said, "The prince is clear about it. The officials are concerned about the navy, so they cannot formulate a strategy to follow the river and think that the first attack on Changde is not the best strategy. The Huguang strategy forces the enemy to fight together, which is more risky.

If the prince intends to seek stability in this battle, he will be Zhang Fujun, the main force who went south to attack Nanning Prefecture, Guangxi; the subordinates will make a plan and re-design the strategy.

However, in this case, Zhang Fu is very likely to be unwilling to fight with our superior forces, and the prince will inevitably have less results. The place controlled by the Han Palace reaches Sichuan in the north and Jiaozhi in Guangxi in the south, forming a long dragon with high mountains and ridges in the middle, making it difficult to travel. The army is far away in Nanling and cannot immediately threaten the hinterland of the pseudo-Emperor. The pseudo-Emperor sent generals to divide troops to compete with the north and south, and our division will find it difficult to open up the situation for a while."

Mr. Li should have seen that Zhu Gaoxu wanted to make substantial progress as soon as possible, so he first presented the strategy of Huguang. In the end, Zhu Gaoxu had the final say on how to make a decision.

Mr. Li then said, "For military expenses, the subordinate officials advised to allow merchants to open new mines such as gold, silver, copper, and lead to increase their income; to borrow money from the Shu Palace; when silver is insufficient, they will use grain, cloth, salt and other items to charge some of the military pay. When the prince occupied the northern part of Guangxi and the western part of Huguang, they can also obtain the capital of the treasury and collect taxes from various places. In this way, military expenses may be maintained before the war in Huguang."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded without hesitation and said, "This is how the government affairs are done! Ask the generals and the chief ministers to issue a government order accordingly."

Mr. Li said, "Sir, obey the order."

Before we knew it, the noisy insects were ringing all over the place, mixed with the occasional frog croaking. The night outside the door was very lively. The night was soaking in the air like water. Zhu Gaoxu obviously felt that the temperature was much lower than before, and there was a coolness on his arms. The temperature difference between day and night here seemed to be relatively large.

Zhu Gaoxu sat for a while and saw that no one was talking around him, he pressed his hand on the table and stood up and said, "First follow this strategy of Huguang and prepare everything. If there is no better way in the future, it will be decided. Let's go back and rest."

Several people successively said, "The lower official (the last general) and others surrendered."

After everyone left, Zhu Gaoxu was still standing next to the table, looking at the file written by Mr. Li, while looking at the general drawings on the picture. He knew very well that the risks of this strategy were still very great. There were multiple steps, and it was not easy to deal with any problem. But he couldn't think of an easier way for a while.

When Emperor Taizu established the Ming Dynasty, the world had already been pacified, but the southwest was still fighting during the Hongwu period. This place was like this, with high mountains and long roads, as if it was siege. It was difficult to march outside to pacify; but it was difficult for people inside to fight from the southwest, but it was very difficult for them to fight from the southwest.

No wonder since ancient times, few forces have won the world from a corner of the southwest, and it is really difficult to get out. Many people have no choice but to be peaceful. When the general situation is doomed, they can only sit and wait for death. Therefore, they must find a foothold outside the mountain! Uncle Liu lost his sworn brothers and insisted on breaking up with his allies to compete with Jingzhou. This is why.

After seeing it, Zhu Gaoxu thought to himself that he would move the Han Palace to Guizhou so that Mr. Li could command the Chief Secretary’s Mansion and control the government affairs of the three provinces. Zhu Gaoxu himself had to lead troops to fight in person.
Chapter completed!