The gold, silver and jewelry have not been obtained yet, but Zhou Yu helped the queen arrange the whereabouts of the money in advance. Anyway, he told the three armies that it was the queen mother and the queen who rewarded it. If the money cannot be taken out, it belongs to the queen mother and the queen.

It's okay, but I think the queen is so rich that she shouldn't give it up.

As for the Empress Dowager Sun, it is certainly good that she is willing to spend a sum of money at this time, but whether she takes it or not does not have much impact on Zhou Yu. Anyway, he is going to be the emperor. The jewelry, calligraphy and paintings in the palace should be sold.

They can also be sold. There is everything in the palace and it is better than his. It is a good thing for Zhou Yu that the valuable things in the palace can win the hearts of the three armies.

It was another night before the first batch of soldiers set off, and the gold, silver and jewelry that the queen planned to use to redeem people before setting off were also transported to the camp.

There were several carts of these things transported from the palace and several palaces in the capital. Nothing can improve morale more than the dazzling gold, silver and jewelry. Before setting off for the expedition, Zhou Yu also picked out a few

A man who was arrested by the Jin Yiwei because of the Queen Mother Sun's involvement led the army to set off. The right way is to combine kindness and power.

Zhou Yu rode on a horse and advanced slowly among the army. Looking at the endless road ahead, his heart became increasingly calm.

Yu Qian and several generals also rode horses in armor to accompany them. As they walked, they discussed how to deal with the next battle.

It's just that compared to other generals who were more concerned about the war, Yu Qian, who had just been promoted to Minister of War, also had more worries in his heart. Halfway through the journey, Yu Qian stepped forward and walked side by side with Zhou Yu, and said softly: "Your Highness, we are already marching.

It’s been two hours, if we rush too quickly, I’m afraid the soldiers won’t be able to hold on.”

"That's your arrangement."

Marching in this era mainly relies on legs. As long as sufficient combat power is ensured, it is already good to be able to walk thirty or forty miles a day. If the marching speed is slightly increased, it should not exceed sixty miles. After all, the war has not started yet and it is not particularly urgent.

, Under normal circumstances, all armies will rest together at ten miles along the road, dry food will be provided at thirty miles, and food and lodging will be provided at sixty miles. Zhou Yu still understands these things.

The army found a good place to rest, and Zhou Yu also got off his horse and sat on a chair to rest. The generals gathered around Zhou Yu and continued to analyze the battle situation with branches on the ground.

Yu Qian spoke from time to time and fell silent from time to time. Noticing that Zhou Yu had been listening to the discussion of the generals, he suddenly asked: "Your Highness, the generals also expressed their opinions. Your Highness, I don't know what you think of the war. Please give me some advice."

.”

Zhou Yu glanced sideways at Yu Qian and said calmly: "The generals here are all experienced in the battlefield, and the opinions they can give are naturally more useful than this king, who has never even been on the battlefield. I think the generals are right.

Now that all the grassland ministries have started to move, the nine towns and border areas will almost all fall into war at the same time. It is easy to say that in other places, but only in Juyongguan, the war on the front line may not be too stable."

"With the current situation, there is definitely a war going on. Any problem in any place will affect the entire defense line. This also leads us to choose stability instead of taking risks. Especially in the Juyongguan area, there is no other choice but to defend. Strategically

We can only defend for the time being, but tactically we can also have some available methods. The best strategy is to strengthen the walls and clear the fields, raid day and night, increase defensive means, prepare more rocks and rolling trees, and make some practical arrangements to effectively increase our ability to defend the city."

Yu Qian nodded: "I agree with what His Highness said. The most important thing now is to defend. As long as we can defend, we will have a chance. If we can't defend, no matter how much we try, it will be useless. It may not be possible to attack us out of the city, but Wala is almost all cavalry.

But when it comes to siege, they are not good at it."

After saying that, Yu Qian was silent for a moment, and then asked: "Your Highness, does the Empress Dowager or the Queen Mother have any will? If so... we still need to stabilize the morale of the army."

"The will is in my hands." Zhou Yu nodded lightly and said, "There is no need to ask for the will of the Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother if it is not necessary."

Yu Qian nodded: "I know."

As long as there is a will, then there is no need to ask too many questions. Anyway, as long as there is a will, any problems have nothing to do with the soldiers. This battle can be fought how to fight.

It wasn't until the next day that Zhou Yu led his army to arrive at Juyong Pass, but it still looked normal here, and the Wala army had not yet arrived in front of Juyong Pass.

In the camp, Zhou Yu sat on the main seat and watched the latest military reports and the movements of the Wala army. This situation was slightly different from what he imagined.

"Your Highness, this is the latest news. Instead of attacking Juyongguan from the previous route, three armies marched at the same time. According to the news from the east, the Oara army's North Road marched directly towards Yongning after a battle with the Miyun defenders.

But they left not very quickly, the army from the middle route came from the direction of Xinghe, and the army from the south route led by Ye first was already close to Datong."

Zhou Yu's eyes fell on the map and he frowned and nodded gently: "How many defenders are there at Zijingguan?"

Yu Qian said softly: "Twenty thousand."

"Can you hold on to twenty thousand?"

Yu Qian shook his head: "It's difficult."

Zhou Yu asked again: "Can Datong be defended?"

"It's difficult." Yu Qian also shook his head again and said: "But I will never dare to attack Datong first."

This is true. You can’t say that you don’t dare to attack, you can only say that you don’t dare to attack by force. If you waste time and soldiers on Datong, even if you capture Datong, it will not be of any help to the strategic purpose of Oara. If you just want to make a big profit

Then there is no problem in attacking Datong, but if we want to achieve a larger goal, then Wala cannot cause too much loss in Datong.

"Zijing Pass." Zhou Yu lightly knocked on the table and said, "Send people to Zijing Pass and make preparations at Lingqiu, Guangchang, and Yuzhou along the way. Yu Qian, please make arrangements."

Yu Qian nodded: "Yes, Your Highness."

Zhou Yu groaned and said: "Aiyangkou is now under attack from both sides and I am afraid that it cannot be defended. It seems that the place that needs reinforcements most now is Zijingguan Pass again."

"It will take six days for the reinforcements sent from the capital to Zijingguan to reach the place." Yu Qian looked at the map and frowned: "Six days...Yexian actually chose the farthest place instead of the near, and he even knew that the troops at Zijingguan are currently insufficient.

"

"Do you still need to think about the answer to this question?" Zhou Yu didn't even look at Yu Qian. He raised his head and asked the Juyong Pass guard: "How many troops have been sent by Wala?"

"According to the replies from the spies, there don't seem to be many." The guard also felt a little strange: "Except for Ye Xian, the other two groups don't seem to be preparing to launch a real attack. They are more like a deterrent."

"That's right." Zhou Yu immediately reacted and understood what was going on: "We were not prepared and they were not prepared either. Wala entered the palace just to plunder. They can't think of things that we can't think of. Who can

I would have thought that the army led by His Majesty would be almost completely wiped out in the battle of Tumubao. I first wanted to launch a large-scale attack, but now I am not well prepared. The various departments in Oara also have to prepare, so now is not the time for their general attack."

Yu Qian said softly: "Wala's movements like this are just to interfere with our judgment, but we still have to arrange the necessary reinforcements in advance."

Zhou Yu looked at Yu Qian: "You have thought of it a long time ago."

Yu Qian shook his head: "I only thought of it because of His Highness's reminder. Your Highness should also have thought that Wala would not enter the palace so early, and that he came with the vanguard just to avoid the noise in the court."

"Heh." Zhou Yu smiled and said: "Well, this time I am inexperienced and I didn't expect that Ye Xian would be so brave and seek stability so much. If it were me, I would have bypassed Datong and entered directly.

Palace Zijingguan is closed, and His Majesty is placed in the rear. Even if Datong's entire army pursues him, I'm afraid he won't dare to make any rash moves. And with the current strength of Zijingguan and the capital, the outcome of this battle is uncertain."

Yu Qian was stunned for a moment when he heard Zhou Yu's words, then his expression became serious and he looked at the map again, asking: "Your Highness, do you think the troops you have now are enough to take over the Bauhinia Pass?"

"We will definitely be able to take it." Zhou Yu nodded and said: "There is a small road next to Zijin Pass that can bypass the pass. If there are people from the Ming Dynasty who really want to take refuge, Zijin Pass will be broken first. Then the other two armies will attack our army regardless of the cost.

No other reinforcements can arrive in time and the natural outcome is unpredictable. If I were to command this battle and not seek full success in one battle, just making the Ming Dynasty move south would already be the greatest victory."

"Besides, we can still achieve our goal even if we don't go through Zijin Pass. When the three armies join together, we only need to leave one leg to guard the Xuan Mansion. The continuous support from various ministries will also make the Xuan Mansion dare not act rashly. Juyong Pass is also very likely to be breached."

"But it wasn't me first. If I didn't choose to act in this way at the beginning, I wouldn't be able to do it next time. It was because I misjudged Ye Xian's courage, so I hurriedly arranged many things and took the vanguard army away.

Wrong place."

Many generals in the camp were so frightened by Zhou Yu's words that they stood up and quickly raised their heads.

Then the expressions they looked at Zhou Yu became complicated.

Yu Qian quickly bowed to Zhou Yu and saluted: "Your Highness, please return to the capital immediately to take charge of the overall situation."

"No." Zhou Yu shook his head and refused again, saying: "Prepare two thousand cavalry, I am going to Xuan Mansion."

Yu Qian's eyes widened: "Your Highness!?"

Zhou Yu said: "After you make arrangements, you can return to the capital first. I will feel relieved that you and the elders are staying in the capital."

"Your Highness, you can't do that."

Not only Yu Qian, but also the generals in the camp quickly knelt down and asked Zhou Yu to withdraw his decision.

"Get up." Zhou Yu waved his hand and said with a smile: "Not only the two thousand cavalry, but the vanguard army brought this time will also transfer all the materials they brought to Xuanfu, and they will march day and night to enter the city as quickly as possible.

.”

Yu Qian was stunned: "Your Highness, are you planning to hide your troops?"

"There is no difference between 200,000 city defenders and 180,000 city defenders, but 10,000 sergeants attacking the rear and 30,000 troops attacking the rear are completely different things. Just do as I say. As for the follow-up reinforcements at Juyong Pass, my king

Additional arrangements will also be made.”

Zhou Yu stood up and said: "Let's make arrangements now. The real battle won't happen in a few days, and naturally there will be no security problems for me. I will go to Xuan Mansion to see what is going on. Why was the Tumu Fort so big in the first place?"

There's actually no movement from Luo Zi, so it shouldn't take too long to get there on horseback."

"I understand." Yu Qian took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "If this is the case, two thousand cavalry may not be enough. I am also willing to go to the Xuan Mansion with His Highness. The twenty thousand soldiers are not only Tibetan soldiers but also supervisors.

"

"Um."

Late at night, five thousand horsemen came out of Juyong Pass, followed by fifteen thousand infantry. Although there were stars and moon, the road was still dark. The pace of progress was naturally not very fast. It was not impossible to light lanterns, but it was impossible.

The lights were very dense, with about twenty people surrounding a lantern, and the lantern was thickened, leaving only a faint light just enough to illuminate the path underfoot. The forward speed was slightly slower than during the day, but not too different.

I didn't expect to be able to completely hide Wala's spies during this day and night, I just wanted to make Wala confused about the specific situation, but there is also a possibility that Wala's spies might not notice this.

The cavalry and infantry moved separately. Zhou Yu and Yu Qian led the three generals and rode on the road under the starry sky. They took a break from time to time in the middle. Five thousand people didn't close their eyes all night and managed to get to the Xuan Mansion. They showed their seals before entering.

Imprisoned in the city.

As soon as he entered the city, he saw a half-hundred general in armor walking down the city tower quickly. With a good look in his eyes, he knelt down a few steps away from Zhou Yuma and shouted in a loud voice: "Old minister

Yang Hong kowtows to His Highness King Xi."

Zhou Yu also had some fatigue on his face. When he jumped off the horse, he felt a little burning on the inside of his legs, but he still pretended to be nonchalant and stepped forward to help Yang Hong.

"Old General Yang, please get up. You don't have to kneel down when you're wearing armor. It's not like the court here isn't so particular."

"Thank you, King Tan." Yang Hong stood up, with a look of guilt on his face: "I am guilty of failing to protect His Majesty."

"What's the use of talking about this after something happened? If there is really a mistake, then it will be the fault of the entire court this time." Zhou Yu patted the dust on Yang Hong's body and said softly: "Now is not the time to ask questions, even if

Even if you make a mistake, you should have the opportunity to make meritorious service. What's more, now the Xuanfu is inseparable from the guard of General Yang. If Old General Yang is blamed for this, who will guard the Ming Dynasty in the future?

The king also hopes that General Lao Yang can make more contributions to the Ming Dynasty in guarding the border, and when the time comes, he can repel the Wala and rescue His Majesty, so that he can be punished and make meritorious service."

Yang Hong was so ashamed that he knelt down again, with tears streaming down his face: "Old minister, thank you to King Tan. I will definitely bow and die for the Ming Dynasty, for the emperor, and for the prince."

Zhou Yu directly changed the subject: "I have had a hard night, and I would like to ask General Yang to arrange a resting place for me, Mr. Yu, the generals, and the many sergeants to get some food. By the way, I also have something to say.

Let’s have a good talk with General Yang.”

Yang Hong nodded quickly: "King Yin, please wait for me. I will make arrangements immediately. If you are King Yin, I will not disapprove of you and the generals, and there is enough space in my mansion."
Chapter completed!