The clear sky was a pleasant omen, but the hearts of the Burmese in Ava were shrouded in a heavy haze.

The day before yesterday, the Burmese king issued a public notice to reassure the people, saying that he had sent people to negotiate with the Ming army. At the same time, tens of thousands of troops were on high alert, and with the Ava River as a barrier, they would definitely be able to resist the Ming army and hold Ava.

But since yesterday, the Ming army has begun to arrive one after another, setting up camp along the Ava River. Across the river from the Ming army camp, the people of Ava City are in a state of panic, as if facing doomsday.

Yes, there are indeed tens of thousands of Burmese troops deployed along the river, and they have been prepared for a long time.

However, the Ming army advanced quickly and attacked fiercely, and arrived in Ava with the power of victory, which still brought tremendous pressure to the Burmese.

The Burmese king sent people to negotiate with the Ming army as a delaying tactic, but he was indeed afraid. If the Ming army was willing to stop, the conditions he offered were quite tempting.

But as the emperor's determination changed, the goal of the war against Burma was also raised. Occupying the large granary of Ava became the task that the Ming army had to accomplish.

The Burmese king could not give up Ava. Since the two sides could not reach an agreement through negotiations, they could only talk on the battlefield.

After all, the Burmese king still had a lucky mentality. With tens of thousands of Burmese troops waiting for the opportunity and the advantage of the Ava River, it would not be easy for the Ming army to cross the river and attack the city.

At the same time, in order to stabilize the morale of the army and the people, the King of Burma remained in Ava and ordered the city defense forces to conduct strict inspections and not allow princes and ministers to escape, so as to avoid confusion and uncontrollable situation.

He may not be determined to die with the city, but he wants to show such a will, which is normal for the Burmese king. If he escapes first, the morale of the people will be out of control, and tens of thousands of troops may flee without a fight.

However, to be on the safe side, the Burmese king secretly sent his son away. The envoys sent to negotiate were also released by the Ming army, who brought back the conditions for the Ming army to cease fire.

"Pay tribute, cede territory, pay compensation, and send hostages to the Ming Dynasty..."

The Burmese king did not summon all his ministers. To be precise, he only summoned a few trusted ministers to discuss these humiliating conditions.

It is easy to make Myanmar a vassal state and pay tribute. Myanmar was originally a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. Changing it back is just a nominal matter and the loss is not that big.

But ceding territory, paying compensation, and sending hostages to the Ming Dynasty——

"Your Majesty," Bian Yajian, the commander-in-chief of the Burmese army, expressed his clear opposition. "Ceding Anzheng City and the lands to the north is simply unacceptable. Anzheng City is only a few dozen miles away from Ava. The Ming army can attack Ava at any time. The slightest movement would alarm our army, leaving them overwhelmed and unable to cope. We would soon be overwhelmed."

King Thalong of Burma frowned, remaining silent. He couldn't express his opinion first; he had to wait until the ministers had expressed their opinions.

Another minister stepped forward and said, "Since this is a negotiation, there must be a give and take. The Ming's conditions are harsh, and we can fight for them, but of course we cannot accept them all. For example, the cession of territory, the Mengyang, Mengmi, Mubang and other Xuanwei Envoys can all be temporarily abandoned."

The Mengyang, Mengmi, Mubang and other Xuanwei missions were originally vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, and even Myanmar was one of them, but they were gradually annexed by Myanmar later.

Moreover, now these Xuanwei Envoys have basically surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, so using this as a bargaining chip is definitely not enough.

"The key right now is to stabilize the Ming army. Even if the conditions are harsh, we can temporarily agree to them," Bilong, the Burmese king's younger brother, said in a deep voice. "First, we must break free from the dual attack of Ming and Siam, and then we can slowly devise countermeasures. At the very least, we must repel Siam first, and only then will the situation improve."

After saying this, Bilong turned to Bian Yajian and asked, "If the Ming army launches an attack, do we have a chance of repelling the enemy in Hebei?"

Bian Yajian pondered for a moment and said, "Our army is of equal strength to the Ming army, and we have the advantage of the Ava River. We should have no problem holding off the enemy for a short period of time."

Short-term! This key word was understood by the Burmese king and his ministers. Although they had known it before, they still felt heavy-hearted.

Myanmar has two advantages: topography and climate. The attempt to delay the battle until spring and summer and force the Ming army to retreat has largely failed.

The Burmese king sighed silently and said, "If we can thwart one or two Ming army attacks, we can negotiate again and perhaps get the Ming to lower their terms."

Since we cannot accept the conditions of the Ming army, the only option left is to fight.

It is impossible to completely defeat the Ming army, but making the Ming army aware of the difficulties and thus obtaining more relaxed ceasefire conditions is probably the best option at present.

As for reinforcements, they could not be expected anytime soon. Siam’s victory at Pagan not only cut off the southern route to the Ava River, but also dealt a heavy blow to the Central Burmese forces, which would take time to regroup.

Lower Burma was even more impossible. Not only was the journey long, but the Mon were also waiting for an opportunity to strike. Once the army was mobilized, how could they not seize the opportunity to attack?

The discussion ended hastily and everyone dispersed with heavy hearts.

Unfortunately, the Burmese were still trying to negotiate a solution, while the Ming army was intensively preparing to cross the river and capture Ava. Negotiations were merely a smokescreen unless the Burmese surrendered unconditionally.

The boats continued southward along the Ava River and gathered at the river bank. The accompanying soldiers built countless rafts and bamboo rafts in preparation for crossing the river.

"The river is less than 100 meters wide, and the current isn't too turbulent, so it's possible to cross it by floating bridge or boat."

Wang Sanshan listened to the officer's report, raised his binoculars, and looked at the Burmese army's defense situation across the river.

The mortars and rockets with ultra-long range could provide fire cover for the Ming army across the river and bombard the Burmese army on the opposite side.

Whether it is building a pontoon bridge or sailing across the river, as long as they can occupy a stable bridgehead on the opposite bank, use sharp firepower to kill a large number of enemies, and launch a charge after gathering a certain amount of troops, the Burmese army's Ava River defense line will collapse.

This was the idea of ​​the military leaders; it was simple and crude, but also straightforward. Considering the disparity in the two sides' armed forces, it was entirely feasible.

"We've collected hundreds of boats, large and small, along the way, capable of carrying 3,000 people at a time. If we add rafts and bamboo rafts, that number could reach 5,000."

Wang Sanshan put down the binoculars, nodded slightly, and said, "Deploy 5,000 people at once and land in batches. The assault team must be strong to ensure a smooth landing. As long as everyone lands, it will be enough to resist the Burmese attack.

The most feared thing in a landing operation is a lack of follow-up. It is impossible for 5,000 people to land at the same time. It is crucial whether the commandos can withstand the enemy's counterattack and ensure the landing of subsequent troops.

"To be on the safe side, we'll need to double the number of rafts and rafts to serve as floating bridges when we launch our attack tomorrow."

Wang Sanshan knew that this would be the final battle of the war against Burma. As long as he could break through the Ava River, the city of Ava would be captured at any time, and the war against Burma would come to a successful conclusion.

So, be steady and strive to be absolutely sure. Not only do we want victory, but we want victory at the lowest cost.

With more than 200 heavy mortars and more than 2,000 rocket launchers, the Ming army's firepower during this river crossing and landing will be unprecedentedly strong.

The decisive battle will begin tomorrow. The record for the most firepower in history will also be written tomorrow.