Brother Zhu Youxiao

"Annan Metropolitan Commander Mo Jingkuan, please surrender to the two commanders-in-chief Ma and Qin!"

On June [-], something unexpected happened.

Four days before Zhu Youjian received the news from Fusi in Beizhen, Mo Jingkuan from the Mo family, Wu Degong from the three forces in the north of Annan, Wu Degong from the guarantor, and [-] chieftains from the old street raised [-] soldiers and governed the people. Three hundred and sixty thousand begged for surrender from Hong Chengchou.

It is slightly different from the history. In the original history, after Mo Jingkuan accepted the Zen throne of his father Mo Jinggong, that is, the emperor of the Mo Dynasty, he should have led the army to attack Lord Zheng in the third year of Tianqi, and then he was defeated.

Five years after Tianqi, the Lord Zheng Zheng led his troops to capture Gaoping, captured and killed the Supreme Emperor Mo Jinggong and the Mo Dynasty Crown Prince, and Mo Jingkuan and his second son Mo Jingwan fled to Daming.

As a result, things took a turning point in the fifth year of Tianqi, and because of Hong Chengchou and Chen Bing’s north in the fifth year of Tianqi, Zheng Zhuzheng did not dare to crusade against the Mo Dynasty, and the emperors Mo Jinggong and Mo Jingkuan of the Mo Dynasty did not encounter the city and fled north. encounter.

However, Mo Jingkuan's defeat in Tianqi's three years has always made Mo Jingkuan uneasy, so when he learned that Daming was about to regain Annan in the beginning of this year, he became the first dog leg.

Not only that, he also encouraged Wu Degong, who guarded Xuanguang and Datong, to surrender to the north together.

Although Wu Degong is Lord Zheng's retainer, he has been dealing with the northern part of the Zheng family all the year round, so he hit it off with Mo Jingkuan.

The two communicated with the thirty-two chieftains in the old street, big and small, and finally submitted their surrender to Hong Chengchou in Lihuayi and Ma Xianglin in Bazhai.

These three forces occupied the northern mountains of Annan respectively, so when they surrendered, the Zheng family's door in the north was directly opened.

What the Ming army had to face was the flat Red River Delta plain and the long coastal plain.

On June [-], when Zhu Youjian urgently learned the news of the surrender of the San Clan through Jinyiwei Babaili, Hong Chengchou had already sent someone to find out the situation.

The San Clan did not pretend to surrender, but actually surrendered.

Accompanied by the running of Tang Qi, nearly [-] soldiers of Chen Bing's [-]th Battalion in the north of Annan set off immediately.

Hong Chengchou and Ma Xianglin each had fifteen battalions of soldiers and horses, and entered Annan from Laojie and Gaoping. At the same time, Qi Yuanfu, who was in Zhennan Pass, and Qi Jin, who was in Luofu, each led ten battalions of soldiers and horses, and launched an attack on Zheng's Lang Son and Xin'an .

"put!"

"Bang bang bang-"

The muzzle sounded like thunder, and after a night of traveling, more than [-] people from Qi Yuanfu's troops at Zhennanguan successfully reached the Lang Son area.

The soldiers who traveled for more than forty miles did not feel a little tired, but very excited.

Accompanied by the sound of cannons against Zheng Jun's camp in Lang Son, the "Battle of Recovering Jiaozhi in Ming Dynasty" officially kicked off.

As soon as the battle started, the Ming army gained the initiative on the battlefield.

As the third route army to regain Jiaozhi, Qi Yuanfu of the Southern Army's Governor's Mansion led ten battalions, equipped with [-] rifles, [-] cavalry guns, [-] five-jin cannons, [-] ten-jin cannons, and other short soldiers. There are countless weapons.

Due to the excellent equipment, Zheng Jun was caught off guard when the battle just started.

The rumbling artillery kept ringing, and Zheng Jun, who hadn't reacted, lost a lot of combat power at once. In just a quarter of an hour, the three towns outside Lang Son fell into a bitter battle, which was in danger. …

"What's going on?! Where's Butang outside the city? Why did the Ming army suddenly come?"

"The Ming army's Tangqi came aggressively. Our Butang couldn't run fast, and they were all solved by the Ming army's firearms."

"Futai and the three outer towns are in danger. The Ming army's approach to the city is only a blink of an eye. Please ask the King of Qing for reinforcements. Otherwise, with only [-] soldiers in Langshan City, Langshan will be lost overnight."

In the government office of Lang Son County, Zheng Gaoyong, the magistrate of Lang Son who was dressed in armor, summoned all the generals of the Zheng army in a daze.

However, General Zheng, who has been engaged in public security battles with the Mo army, the Wu family, and the Ruan family all year round, does not know how to fight the Ming army at all.

What's more, just listening to the sound of artillery from the north, they knew very well that the Ming army had a lot of artillery.

This is not to say that Zheng Jun has no artillery. After all, in the trade between Zheng Jun and the Portuguese, firearms are often bought and sold.

It's just that they used the Franco cannon that the Ming army had abandoned, and the artillery weighed only two or even three pounds.

Even with such quality Franco cannons, there are only sixty-two guns in Lang Son, and thirty-two guns are deployed in the three towns on the front line.

Now that the three towns are about to be lost, the artillery can't be brought back. Relying on thirty artillery to defend Lang Son City, which is two miles in circumference, is simply a dream.

"Quick! Send a fast horse to Thang Long, and inform the King of Qing to send troops to support. It means that the army has [-] troops to attack, and Lang Son Mansion is in danger. Please send troops quickly!"

"Yes!"

Zheng Gaoyong hastily issued an order, and none of the generals in the county government cared about his exaggeration of the number of Ming troops, but hurriedly sent countless horses southward.

It's just that the distance from Lang Son to Thang Long is more than [-] li, no matter how fast the Tang Qi is, it will take at least one day to get there without changing horses.

In one day, whether Lang Son City can be defended is still a question.

"Bang bang bang-"

When Zheng Gaoyong asked for help from Shenglong, the Ming army in the southern military governor's mansion had already finished shelling. With the sound of the charge, more than [-] people attacked three different towns from three different directions.

The sound of rifles rang out incessantly on the battlefield, and more than [-] cavalry from ten battalions of soldiers and horses were constantly cruising around to clean up the defeated troops who were trying to escape.

The total number of soldiers and horses in Lang Son Prefecture is [-], while the number of soldiers and horses in the three outer towns is [-] people each.

From the start of the attack to the end, in less than an hour, the three towns were all destroyed, and more than [-] heads were harvested and handed over. Such a big victory also brought great encouragement to the soldiers of the Southern Army's Governor's Mansion.

"The fortifications of these Annan people are not as good as the fortifications built by our Southern Army Governor's Mansion on weekdays for offensive and defensive drills."

"Relying on the defense of the city wall with civil engineering, how can it be possible to block the shelling of the five-jin cannon and the ten-jin cannon? It is normal to fail."

"It's just that they can't fight in the streets. They don't know how to tear down houses and block streets to build fortifications. They only know how to use knives and poker players to cover firearms players to shoot."

"The knife cards can't stop our rifles within fifty steps, they are considered bloody bad luck."

In Zhongshan Town, Qi Yuanfu pulled the dead general Zheng Jun with a knife, and behind him were the generals of the Southern Army Commander's Mansion who were chattering enthusiastically. …

"Okay..." Putting the long knife back into its sheath, Qi Yuanfu looked at the dead generals of the Zheng army on the street, and couldn't help but feel a bit of fear in his heart.

The power of rifle guns is far greater than that of bird guns and Lumi guns. If the former Zhejiang soldiers met the current Southern Army's governor's mansion, their fate would not be much better.

"Sure enough, as His Highness said, the innovation of firearms determines the future war."

With a word of emotion, Qi Yuanfu turned his head and said to the ten generals: "The army rested for an hour, and captured Lang Son City overnight!"

"Five days later, we will come to Shenglong City!"

"As ordered!"

The ease of winning the three towns greatly encouraged the spirits of the generals. They had been fighting against Jianlu all of a sudden, and suddenly they came to the south to deal with armed forces like Annan.

This kind of thinking is not only felt by them, but also by the soldiers of the entire Southern Army Governor's Mansion.

After a short rest for an hour, the army marched to Lang Son City. When more than [-] soldiers and horses from the Southern Army Governor's Mansion surrounded Lang Son Mansion, the sky gradually became brighter.

Looking at the flags and horses of the Ming army like the red tide, the general in charge of the defense of Lang Son City could only feel a heavy breath in his heart, unable to vomit or swallow.

The Ming army did not encircle Lang Son City completely, but adopted the method of encircling three ques and one.

This was a tactic discussed before the war. Hong Chengchou hoped to let the soldiers and horses of the cities go to the Red River Delta, and then wiped out the [-] soldiers and horses of the Zheng family in one fell swoop on the plain, so as to prevent the soldiers and horses of the Zheng family from hiding in the western mountains and Ming Dynasty. Army conducts guerrilla warfare.

Therefore, when the battle broke out and the roaring artillery bombarded the head of Lang Son City, the blue bricks were smashed and the rammed earth was exposed, Zheng Gaoyong immediately chose to lead more than [-] remnant troops to retreat southward.

Lang Son Mansion was easily taken by Qi Yuanfu, and Hong Chengchou and Ma Xianglin also took over Laojie, Xuanguang, Datong and Gaoping respectively.

Xin'an City, the east gate of Annan, also began to retreat in the face of Qi Jin's arrival of [-] soldiers.

For a while, Zheng Zhu's northern frontier continued to shrink, and on the second day of July, all the cities in the mountainous area were lost.

"boom!"

"In three days, all twelve counties in the north were lost, and more than [-] soldiers and horses were withdrawn with only more than [-] people. How did you fight this battle?!"

In Shenglong City, when Zheng Bing, who was the Qing king of the Annan Li Dynasty, was angry, many civil servants and generals of the Zheng army who had retreated from the palace of the Shenglong Mansion bowed their heads one after another.

Zheng Bing, who had just turned [-], did not expect that the three forces including the Wu clan, Mo clan, and Laojie would directly surrender to the Ming Dynasty and open the door for the Ming army to enter Annan.

But he didn't expect that the [-] soldiers and horses deployed in the north could not hold up for three days.

Now the north is lost, and the counties of Thang Long and Haiyang are directly exposed to the front of the Ming army.

Although Thang Long City still has [-] elite Imperial Forest Army of the Li Dynasty and more than [-] remnants who have retreated, whether they can hold Thang Long City is a question that makes Zheng Bing undecided.

Thang Long is also the Hanoi of the later generations. This city was built in the early Tang Dynasty. It was Songping County under the jurisdiction of the Jiaozhou General Administration of the Tang Dynasty at the beginning, and it was also the political, economic and cultural center of the Annan Governor's Office.

Later, following the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, the place could not be restrained, and this place was changed to the station of Jinghai Jiedushi. …

Because this place is a necessary place no matter from the south to the north, or from the inland to the coast, and it also has the largest river port in the north of Annan, so its location is very important in terms of politics and military.

From an economic point of view, because it is located in the Red River Delta Plain and has been continuously developed by the Central Plains people for more than [-] years, nearly half of Annan's arable land and one-third of its population are here.

More than [-] million mu of cultivated land are all near Thang Long and Hai Duong. Once Thang Long and Hai Duong are lost, even if Zheng Bing retreats to Qinghua in the south, it will be difficult to support his army.

What's more, Zheng Yi knew how powerful the navy of the Ming Dynasty was from some Portuguese people.

Losing the northern plains, retreating to the south is better than retreating directly to the western mountains and forests.

"Conscript [-] soldiers from the south to support Thang Long, and another [-] civilians."

"Finally, I sent a begging letter to Hong Chengchou, saying that my king is willing to go to the king's title, and that I, Zheng Bing, am willing to guard Annan on the border for the Ming Dynasty."

Zheng Bing was reluctant to abandon the rich land of Shenglong, and he didn't want to fight, but he was even more unwilling to surrender directly.

What he thought was very simple, that is to become an existence like the Mu family in Yunnan.

He thought very well, if it was an ordinary Han emperor, he might really agree.

Just who is Zhu Youjian?What he wants is not Annan who can only control the local economy and mobilize local troops.

What he wants is Annan who eliminates all uncertainties and prepares for the next immigration plan.

If Zheng Bing controls the soldiers and horses, then if he rebels at that time, millions of Han people will face the butcher's knife, and Zhu Youjian's hard work will not exist.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian would rather spend time and money to clear up Annan than to reduce a big battle and get Annan with uneasy factors.

Hong Chengchou understood Zhu Youjian's thoughts even more, so when he led his troops to Taiyuan County in the north of Annan and received a letter sent by Zheng Bing, he directly threw the letter on the table and said:
"My Royal Highness King Qi and Long Live will never allow anyone to raise such a condition. If Zheng Yi wants to beg for surrender, he will hand over his soldiers and horses. My court can confer honor on him and keep him rich for the rest of his life!"

"This..." Hearing this, Zheng Gaoyong, who was sent as an envoy, looked around. The short height of five feet seemed a bit ridiculous in the government office which was generally five feet three or four inches.

"The subject will bring the news back..."

Zheng Gaoyong was afraid that he would do something transgressive, which would cause him to be used by Hong Chengchou to sacrifice the flag, so he behaved very humbly.

Facts have also proved that the humble envoys of weak countries can save their lives.

In front of the generals, Hong Chengchou raised his hand and said, "Don't blame this book for not giving Zheng Bing time. This book gives him three months to think about it. If Zheng Bing hasn't made a decision after three months, this book With a little strategy, the army will go south, and the soldiers will ascend to the dragon!"

"Thank you, Mr. Shangguo Jinglue..." Zheng Gaoyong heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Hong Chengchou's words, and then withdrew from the Taiyuan government office with Hong Chengchou waving his hand.

However, at the same time as he withdrew, Ma Xianglin, Qin Bangping, Qi Yuanfu and others who had already arrived in Taiyuan said in puzzlement:

"Jinglue, Shenglong is close at hand, it only takes a few days to win, why wait for three months?"...

"That's right. In the past few days, our soldiers have been dissatisfied with the climate and soil, and they have contracted a lot of miasma when they climbed the mountains. Right now, the war should be over as soon as possible, and Jiaozhi should be pacified and retreated to Yunnan."

"If the strategy is willing, give the last general seven battalions of soldiers and horses, and the last general will take Shenglong City within ten days!"

The words of the three of them all showed that they did not want to prolong the war, because they were pure generals, and they only wanted to end the war quickly.

They can think so, but Hong Chengchou can't.

Did Hong Chengchou not know the combat power of the Ming army, that the Ming army could take Shenglong in ten days, and pacify the whole of Annan in three months?The problem is he can't do that.

He needs to follow Zhu Youjian's plan and leave Daming a Cochin without any uneasy factors, not Annan.

Therefore, he deliberately and arrogantly agreed to give Zheng Bing three months, this time is for Zheng Bing to mobilize a large number of males in the Zheng family.

Compared with the Ming army recording and arresting the men one by one, it is better to use the war to solve most of them in one go.

As long as there are fewer males, the Han people will eventually occupy the position of the main ethnic group after the Ming people migrate.

So when faced with the urging of Ma Xianglin and the other three, Hong Chengchou smiled and said:

"Don't worry, generals. There are still many guerrilla Annan soldiers and horses in the mountains behind our army. Right now, Lord Xiaoguo and the others are leading troops to clean up these soldiers and horses to protect our army's supply line."

"Annan is more than two thousand miles north and south. If we don't deal with Annan's stragglers in the mountains, our army will not be able to drive them down."

Hong Chengchou's words were high-sounding, but everyone knew that the Ming army would transport supplies by sea from Shenglong to the south, and the stragglers on land could not pose any threat to the Ming army at all.

"The three generals should go down and have a good rest. I have already reported my achievements to His Highness."

Hong Chengchou spoke with a smile, and the three of Ma Xianglin were dissatisfied when they saw this, but they could only bow to each other and left the county government office.

However, there were not only the three of them in this county government office, but also Mo Jinggong and others who surrendered.

Regarding them, Hong Chengchou also said with a smile:

"You don't have to worry, this booklet has listed your achievements, please long live to confer on you as lords, Fuze's descendants are not a problem."

"Thank you, Jinglue..." Mo Jinggong and others bowed and saluted, while Hong Chengchou nodded with a smile.

"You don't need to thank me, this strategy is also asking for something, I hope you can lead troops to follow Xiao Guogong to mop up the stragglers in the rear..."

He comforted Mo Jinggong and the others, and then asked Mo Jinggong and the others to command his troops, and Mu Qiyuan and Wu Bikui were responsible for the mopping-up tasks in the rear.

Such a task made this group of people shine in an instant.

Everyone knows what the mopping up is about. Ma Xianglin and the others didn't participate because they disdain it, but they won't do it.

Let them clean up, I'm afraid they will be more cruel than Mu Qiyuan and others.

In this way, it can be said that Hong Chengchou pushed the good things to their lips.

Therefore, they all said: "Leave this matter to us, please rest assured."

"Hmm... go down and have a good rest if you have nothing to do." Hong Chengchou waved his hand, as if he had finished all the arrangements for everyone. …

"I'll take my leave..." Mo Jinggong and others bowed and retreated, until they left, the three of them walked out of the screen behind Hong Chengchou.

"This group of people begged for surrender, so there is no way to deal with the more than [-] people under their rule..."

When someone familiar rang, Lu Xiu, Shen Lian, and Lu Xian walked out, and Hong Chengchou stroked his short beard and said:

"Three or more than [-] people can't affect the overall situation. The most important thing is the more than [-] million people under Zheng Ruan's rule."

"Give them some time to mobilize the men, and hundreds of thousands of people can be captured in one fell swoop."

Hong Chengchou's words made Lu Xiu nod his head slightly, while Lu Xian was absent-minded. Only Shen Lian frowned slightly, as if expressing his displeasure at such a method.

A man like Hong Chengchou could tell the state of the three of them at a glance, so he smiled at Shen Lian:

"Shen Qianhu, I would like to ask you to go to the Nanzhang Hundred Household Office to investigate the number of soldiers and horses in Nanzhang and the news, and then decide whether to send troops to Nanzhang after the Battle of Annan."

"Leave it to the humble staff..." Shen Lian bowed in response, obviously he didn't want to show too many figures in this bloody Annan battle, and saw too many scenes that he didn't want to see.

Therefore, after Hong Chengchou ordered, he left the county office, and Hong Chengchou also looked at Shen Lian's back and said:

"It seems that Shen Qianhu is not as good as Lu Qian envoys you..."

"Jing Lue doesn't need to provoke, Shen Lian and I are both His Highness's people, his temperament is something His Highness needs to think about." Lu Xiu made the matter clear, while Hong Chengchou smiled without any embarrassment.

This guy's face has long been as thick as elm skin, and looking at Lu Xiu and Lu Xian, he squinted his eyes and said:
"I'll leave the information on the mobilization of Zheng Bing and Ruan Fuyuan, as well as Champo's soldiers and horses, to you two."

"In addition, the two of you can inform Governor Huang that you don't have to worry about Annan's affairs for the time being. Wait for Annan's troops to gather, and then strike with a thunderbolt."

"Take orders!" Lu Xiu grabbed his long knife and was about to lead Lu Xian out of the county government office.

But at this time Hong Chengchou stopped his mouth and said: "I heard that a drought broke out in eastern Sichuan, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. In this way, the people can be relocated southward in advance."

"I would like to trouble Lu Xian Qianhu to go to Sichuan to monitor the local chief envoy. I will go to your highness and ask your highness to order to relocate the people in eastern Sichuan to the south."

"A lowly job takes orders..." Lu Xian didn't have the temper of Shen Lian and Lu Xiu, he just wanted to do his job well.

"The relocation of the people is very fast. His Highness has ordered hundreds of thousands of people to relocate hundreds of thousands of people who have suffered severe droughts in Shaanxi, Shanxi and other places. They will arrive in the northern part of Annan in a few months. It is better to ask Huang Dudu. Where are these people?"

Lu Xiu glanced at Hong Chengchou, and released a message that made Hong Chengchou squint his eyes, and Hong Chengchou responded with a smile:
"This is natural. The people's relocation to Annan has stabilized my Ming Dynasty's rule over the future Jiaozhi. This is a good thing."

"I will solve the problem of food and fodder for the people before they arrive, and I will also solve the arable land and cattle."

"Please envoy Lu Qian can go to the school in advance and tell His Royal Highness what the old man is preparing."

Hong Chengchou knew that Jinyiwei's message transmission speed was much faster than that of the Dudufu of the Five Armies, so he wanted to use Lu Xiu to tell Zhu Youjian that he, Hong Chengchou, was doing things seriously.

"Don't worry about it..." Lu Xiu replied, then turned around and left with Lu Xian.

After they left, Hong Chengchou looked down at his hands.

Those delicate and fair hands looked like those of a pure literati, unlike Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangsheng, and Xiong Tingbi, who were literati with armored stomachs and holding long knives.

It's just that the hands of pure literati are more powerful than the butcher's knives in the hands of soldiers once they are used.

Hong Chengchou closed his hands, and at the same time Lu Xian who walked out of the government office also frowned and said:

"This Hong Chengchou hides a knife in his smile. It's better not to deal with him in the future."

"It's impossible not to deal with him. A person like him is just right for this kind of place. I'm afraid we will have to work with him for many years."

Lu Xiu carried the saber on both shoulders, and lightly scoffed at his junior brother's words, while Lu Xian said dissatisfiedly:

"This kind of person uses it too much, and if he doesn't grasp it well, he will easily hurt himself."

"It depends on who uses it. If it is used by His Highness, it will be very interesting..." Lu Xiu said, and also patted Lu Xian on the shoulder:

"Don't think so much." After saying that, he and Lu Xian gradually disappeared on the long street of Taiyuan County side by side...