When the hot air balloon landed safely, Lu Zhenfei was already shocked to an extreme level.

Even if the hot air balloon cannot land at the precise position, it will not affect this.

Lu Zhenfei had never had a similar experience in the past decades. This time he brought him a subversive cognition.

And all this is because of His Majesty the Emperor.

The hot air balloon itself is the invention of His Majesty the Emperor, just like the flintlock rifle and the shuttle loom.

Sometimes Lu Zhenfei wonders why His Majesty the Emperor has so many novel ideas. It is probably a bit far-fetched to just use the emperor to be ordered by heaven to explain.

But none of these matters. What matters is that the Ming army has a brand new way of combat.

Lu Zhenfei didn't know how many hot air balloons could be made with the current national strength of the Ming Dynasty. But one thing is certain, that is, it would definitely cause severe damage to the Donglu.

Then Lu Zhenfei followed Zhu Cilang back to the palace, and the monarch and ministers discussed specific combat plans and details together.

Afterwards, Zhu Cilang stayed at Lu Zhenfei for a meal in the palace and had a genuine potato feast.

Lu Zhenfei had eaten potatoes before, but it was the simplest way to cook them in white water. He really didn't expect that the unpretentious potatoes would have so many ways to eat them. He even thought that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty would eat such things that only poor people could eat.

It is a blessing for the Ming Dynasty to have such a wise and powerful king, benevolent and loving the people.

"Your Majesty, now that King Gui is absconding Annan, Annan has always been ambiguous. Your Majesty might as well issue a decree to reprimand him and put some pressure on him."

As we chatted, Lu Zhenfei talked about King Gui.

This cousin who is today is really not worry-free. He led people to flee to Annan even though he knew that there was no hope of rebellion.

This situation has caused a problem for the court.

If the plan to send troops to the north and south is to be pushed back.

But it would be very uncomfortable if you don’t send troops and let King Gui make some small moves in Annan.

Now the problem is facing Zhu Cilang, it is his turn to make a decision.

Zhu Cixuan pondered for a moment and said, "I have considered what I said just now. But just a warning is not enough to make Annan realize the seriousness of the problem."

He paused and continued: "I am going to let Yuan Jixian fight to the south gate."

When Lu Zhenfei heard this, he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, you must not. Now that the Northern Expedition is imminent, it is really not appropriate to distribute manpower, material resources, and financial resources. After the Northern Expedition, it will be not too late for Shenjing to restore His Majesty to Annan again."

Zhu Cilang shook his head and said, "I didn't say I want to conquer Annan now."

"Who will Your Majesty send Yuan to governor Chen Bing to the Nanguan?"

"I just asked Yuan Jixian to act and scare the Annan people."

"Your Majesty is saying bluffing?"

Lu Zhenfei's eyes lit up.

"good."

Zhu Cilang nodded slightly and said, "The people of Annan are arrogant and domineering, and have long been untamed by our Ming Dynasty. If it weren't for the great trouble of the Eastern Captain in the north, I would have wished to send troops to attack Shenglong immediately. But now I can't, I can only scare them first. If they were timid and took King Gui to Zhennan Pass, it would be the best."

Lu Zhenfei now fully understood the Holy Emperor’s intention.

The reason why the Annan people were at the top of the rat was because they felt that the Ming Dynasty was declining and the Eastern Captains were rising.

If the Ming Dynasty could send its army to the border area for the Annan people to take a look, they would definitely feel fear and awe in their hearts.

This is enough now.

It is hard to say whether the Annan people will send King Gui back. If they can be sent back, it is naturally the best. If they don’t send back, it is not unacceptable to maintain the status quo.

As long as the Ming Dynasty won the decisive battle with the Eastern Lu, it would be easy to deal with Annan or King Gui.

The most urgent task now is to fight the Northern Expedition.

"As for the Northern Expedition, I have some ideas and want to discuss it with my army."

"Please speak with your Majesty."

Lu Zhenfei bowed his hand.

"One is whether to divide the troops."

Zhu Cixuan walked to the map and said slowly: "Now the Eastern Escaping has occupied Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Beizhili and other places. If I attacked the north, there are two directions to march. The first is to attack Hanzhong from Sichuan and then attack Shangluo through Hanzhong."

He paused and gave Lu Zhenfei time to digest.

"The second is to send troops from Shandong to attack Henan and Northern Zhili. In terms of importance, Northern Zhili is definitely more important, and the restoration of Shenjing can also have greater symbolic significance. But the Eastern Lu will definitely hoard heavy troops in Northern Zhili. If you only attack one of them, I am worried that you will fall into a fierce battle."

When Lu Zhenfei heard this, he knew that His Majesty the Emperor had an answer in his heart.

The emperor wants to divide his troops.

"It's even more difficult for Your Majesty to seize Hanzhong."

Although Lu Zhenfei had never been to Hanzhong, he knew that it was not easy to send troops from Sichuan to attack north with Hanzhong as the terrain.

During the Three Kingdoms period, the Shu Han Dynasty made several northern expeditions, and the battle on the Hanzhong battlefield was very fierce, which was because the terrain was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Compared with the Northern Zhili, the only thing that needs to do is to face off directly with the main force of the Donglu.

It can only be said that the two combat directions have their pros and cons.

"It would certainly be difficult if it was before. But now I have Li Dingguo."

Zhu Cilang seemed very confident.

He waved his hand and said, "He will definitely play an important role in the attack on Hanzhong."

Lu Zhenfei was stunned when he heard this.

Li Dingguo? He seems to have heard of this name.

This person is said to be the adopted son of Xianzhe. After Xianzhe died, he also restored his original surname.

Just recently, Li Dingguo had just accepted the imperial edict from the court and was stationed in Jianchang.

"Your Majesty, the thief has indeed stolen Hanzhong, but it has not occupied much time. However, the thief occupied Hanzhong for a long time. Can this Li Dingguo really play an important role?"

Zhu Cilang smiled and said, "I am waiting to see it."

The reason why Zhu Cilang is so confident is naturally because of his understanding of Li Dingguo.

This number one general in the history of the Southern Ming Dynasty had a very strong ability to command troops. Zhu Cilang could not do such a strong man without using it and hide in the corner to make ash.

"Since this is the case, I dare not say much. But is it too risky to divide the troops just because of Li Dingguo? The Ming Dynasty suffered the loss of splitting the troops in the Battle of Sarhu back then."

Zhu Cilang knew that Lu Zhenfei would mention the Battle of Sarhu. Because the Battle of Sarhu was a sign of the decline of the Ming Dynasty from prosperity. Since the Battle of Sarhu, the offensive and defensive momentum between the Ming Dynasty and the Donglu had changed.

But it is not objective to attribute the reason for defeat to the division of troops.

"I have also analyzed the reason for the failure of the Battle of Sarhu. It is not about dividing troops, but about underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly."

Zhu Cixuan said loudly: "And the Ming Dynasty did a very bad job in the coordinated march, which gave the Donglu a chance to defeat each other. This time I will not give them such a chance."

Zhu Cilang's words are determined and have a sense of majesty in the emperor, which is indisputable.

...
Chapter completed!