Last night, Guard Zhang said that many of these weapons were used for siege warfare.

Since there were still Sang Dynasty citizens in the city, Gu Yuzhi naturally did not want to launch a forced attack.

But if the prefects of these prefectures are truly determined to rebel, they certainly cannot sit idly by and wait for their doom.

Gu Yuzhi pouted and snorted, but his big eyes stared straight at Chief Secretary Xie and then at Prince Qi.

They're so smart, they must have a way, right?

As Teacher Shu once said, those who can't lead a team will only be able to work themselves to death!

Gu Yuzhi's big eyes darted around as he looked at Mr. Huo: "Mr. Huo, do you have any good suggestions?"

There's no need to go to the canal to fight the defending troops; Mr. Huo will surely have a solution.

Mr. Huo pondered for a moment and said, "Yangzhou and Jiangzhou are indeed the most troublesome, and I'm afraid we can only attack them head-on. So I suggest we start with other prefectures, and then a few prefectures south of Shenzhou, and focus on persuading them to surrender."

Gu Yuzhi nodded his little head: "Yes, yes, yes. Persuasion should be the main approach, and force should be avoided if possible."

Mr. Huo turned and smiled approvingly at Gu Yuzhi, then said, "But it is clear that Shenzhou and Huzhou, which is adjacent to Shenzhou, are both quite dangerous."

Chief Secretary Xie nodded in agreement, saying, "Mr. Huo is right."

After they finished their meal, Mr. Huo simply took a wooden stick and sketched a map of Jiangnan on the ground with a few strokes.

The wooden stick pointed at Shenzhou and Huzhou and said, "Your Highness can send troops to these two prefectures first. If the other side hesitates or resists, Your Highness can send people to spread rumors about Gu Yufan's crimes in the city, in order to win people's hearts."

Gu Yuzhi squatted on the ground, cupped his face in his fists, and looked at Mr. Huo with bright eyes.

Just like when he said that he had relatives of these naval officers in Huizhou outside Yuding Gate, it was a psychological tactic.

He nodded his little head, saying, "Mr. Huo, please continue. Please continue."

Mr. Huo then added, "Doing so will minimize the need for us to send troops."

The more than 1,000 soldiers captured earlier can be trusted for the time being because they participated in the suppression on Houhu Island.

Therefore, Mr. Huo plans to send more than a thousand soldiers to Shenzhou and Huzhou.

He pointed to the two prefectures behind Huzhou: "In my humble opinion, these two prefectures can be handed over to the prefects of Ningzhou and Yunzhou."

These prefects all served in Jiangnan, so they must know each other better. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to let them persuade the enemy to surrender.

As for Yangzhou and Jiangzhou, it seems that a real battle is about to begin.

Gu Yuzhi glanced at the cities and said in a low voice, "Our current generals are Guard Zhang, Mr. Huo, Guard Jiang, and Commander Zhu, exactly four!"

He held up four fingers, then pointed to Jiangzhou and said, "Gu Yufan's Prince's Mansion is in Jiangzhou, so let Guard Zhang lead two hundred elite soldiers and two thousand naval troops there."

Gu Yufan led the navy to surround the Duke of Qi, but the princess and others from the Prince's Mansion were still there, which meant that there must still be personal guards in the mansion.

Compared to the city guards, the personal guards are definitely much more skilled in martial arts. Therefore, Gu Yuzhi sent Zhang Shiwei, two hundred elite soldiers, and two thousand naval troops there because he was afraid that Zhang Shiwei would suffer a loss.

As for why they didn't send Mr. Huo, who was more skilled in warfare, it was because they were afraid that Gu Yufan's wives would recognize him!

He remembered that Xie Changshi had previously analyzed with him the process by which Mr. Huo was convicted, and it was very likely that Gu Yufan was behind it.

He then looked at Mr. Huo and said, "I'll leave Yangzhou to Mr. Huo. Take one hundred elite soldiers and one thousand naval troops..."

Before he could finish speaking, he heard Guard Qi say, "Your Highness, I have some things here."

Gu Yuzhi tilted his head back and looked at him: "What? What?"

Judging from the way the Crown Prince is, could he be something bad?

Gu Yuzhi blinked and saw Prince Qi take out a booklet from his pocket and hand it over.

He subconsciously took the booklet and glanced through it casually, then suddenly stood up and handed it directly to Mr. Huo: "Quick, quick, this is some evidence of crimes committed by Fan Qiu, the prefect of Yangzhou."

After Mr. Huo took the booklet, Gu Yuzhi turned to look at Prince Qi, her face full of displeasure. She pouted and grumbled, "Prince Qi, why didn't you produce this evidence sooner?"

This way, he could have Guard Jiang deliver it to his elder brother.

If that were the case, the news that would spread would certainly not only be that Gu Yufan had been demoted to a commoner and was to be arrested, but also that Fan Qiu and the prefect of Jiangzhou should be arrested as well.

Prince Qi bowed repeatedly in apology: "Yes, yes, it's all my fault!"

Seeing how well he admitted his mistake, Gu Yuzhi puffed out his cheeks and snorted, "Fine, I forgive you."

Prince Qi then continued, "It's not that I was unwilling to bring the evidence; it was only delivered this morning."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuzhi realized he had wronged Prince Qi and scratched his head, saying, "I'm sorry, I wronged you just now."

Prince Qi raised an eyebrow, clearly quite surprised.

He had served the Emperor for many years, and even when the Crown Prince was not valued, the Emperor never apologized for blaming them for such a trivial matter.

Prince Qi smiled and said, "All the evidence here has been verified by my men repeatedly."

He glanced at Mr. Huo and said, "Your Highness, even beheading Fan Qiu wouldn't be too much for what he's done. Therefore, I suggest that if Fan Qiu refuses to surrender, perhaps he should be killed on the spot?"

Kill on the spot?

Gu Yuzhi was somewhat bewildered and subconsciously looked at Chief Secretary Xie, who pondered for a moment and said, "I also agree."

Gu Yuzhi clapped his hands and stood up: "Alright! Then Chief Secretary Xie, you write an edict, and I'll stamp it."

If the city guards still refuse to open the city gates upon seeing Mr. Huo's edict, then Mr. Huo has the right to kill Fan Qiu on the spot.

Chief Secretary Xie nodded and said, "Your subject obeys."

Gu Yuzhi then looked at Zhu Shoubei: "Zhu Shoubei, you've been in Huizhou for over a year. Are you familiar with Shenzhou and Huzhou? For these two prefectures, I'll equip each of you with 500 naval troops, plus 200 city guards. Is that enough?"

Zhu Shoubei nodded and said, "That's enough. As far as I know, the city guards of Huzhou and Shenzhou number at most five hundred men."

Huizhou is a much larger city than Huzhou and Shenzhou. Huizhou's city guard only has 500 men. If Huzhou and Shenzhou are larger than that, then they have ulterior motives.

With the general direction determined, some details remained, so the group moved to Prince Qi's study.

Especially Guard Zhang and Mr. Huo, looking at the detailed maps of Yangzhou and Jiangzhou, kept discussing the battle plan.

Gu Yuzhi sat to the side, listening attentively, glancing at this and that, trying to digest what the two were saying.

It wasn't until late noon that they finalized the detailed siege plan. Afterwards, Guard Zhang and Mr. Huo didn't even have time for a meal before hurriedly mustering their troops, planning to set off in half an hour...