In Lueyang City,

Tian Jiucheng, Gao Fuxing, Wang Jingangnu and He Miaoshun gathered together.

As the Emperor Ming of Han, Tian Jiucheng naturally sat in the seat of honor, with Gao Fuxing and Wang Jingangnu on his left and right.

He Miaoshun joined later, so he had a lower seat in the row.

"Mr. Gao, tomorrow our men will be able to break through Huizhou. However, a message has recently arrived saying that the Ming court is going to raise a large army to suppress us in one fell swoop. I wonder if Mr. Gao has any good plan."

Tian Jiucheng asked with a heavy face.

Gao Fuxing was an official before and also a serious scholar, but he had no official title.

Many strategies of the rebel army, including the future direction, were formulated by Gao Fuxing. After all, apart from him, the other three so-called kings here were illiterate.

He Miaoshun also said: "The actions of the Ming court this time are somewhat unexpected. The latest news is that there are 100,000 troops coming, and some say 200,000. We have less than 20,000 people here. How can we resist? Please make a plan, Mr. Gao."

Gao Fuxing is a little fat and calls himself Maitreya Buddha.

When he heard this, he did not answer immediately, but half-closed his eyes and began to think.

However, in my heart, I had already started cursing.

"If I had not been caught for corruption, I would never have joined you in the uprising. Now, you have directly proclaimed yourself emperor. How can the Ming court let you go when you are so tall? "

"You can't persuade a damned dog with kind words. I've said before that you shouldn't attract too much attention from the Ming court, but you just listened to the lies of those profiteers."

"Now you know to ask me for a strategy. Let alone an army of 100,000 or 200,000, even an army of 30,000 or 50,000 is not something we can contend with."

Gao Fuxing is still so angry that he still hasn't gotten over it.

The current situation of the rebel army seems very good and the momentum is strong, but everyone knows that once the imperial army arrives, what can they use to fight back?

"Mr. Gao, please don't be angry. At this point, we can only think of ways to deal with it. There is no point in doing this."

"Besides, Zhu Yuanzhang is qualified to be the emperor, but why can't I, Tian Jiucheng, be the emperor?"

"What those merchants said is also true. Didn't Zhu Yuanzhang also work as a monk and a beggar in his early days? Our righteous army is no weaker than he was in the past. He only had a few men at that time. Now we can raise our arms and people from all directions will follow us. We are much stronger than he was then."

Tian Jiucheng said with a smile on his face.

Gao Fuxing was a military strategist, but Tian Jiuchen was almost in the dark once he left Mianyang County.

Everything else is similar, so now we can only rely on Gao Fuxing for advice.

However, the resentment deep in his eyes naturally grew gradually.

If he really gets the upper hand, he will definitely kill Gao Fuxing first.

After all, he is the emperor now, so he shouldn't give him any face at all.

Of course, Tian Jiucheng was self-aware. In such private occasions, he usually referred to himself as "I" instead of "Zhen".

Gao Fuxing sighed inwardly after hearing this.

Now that we are on this pirate ship, there is no way to escape and we can only keep going.

As for how far you can go, that depends on how strong your life is.

After sorting out his thoughts, Gao Fuxing said, "Is there enough food in our army for now?"

Hearing Gao Fuxing was willing to speak, Tian Jiucheng knew that it was over, and replied: "Those merchants are honest. The food is enough for our army to eat for half a year. They also promised that if we conquer Huizhou and there is not enough food, they can send it to us."

Gao Fuxing nodded, took out a map from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

Seeing this, Tian Jiucheng didn't care about etiquette and walked over directly. The other two also gathered together.

Gao Fuxing pointed at the map and said, "From the current perspective, the Ming court's capital is probably sending troops directly from Nanzhili to suppress us."

"Although we are currently making a big noise, everyone knows the reality. We are fighting against an army of 100,000. Even if the numbers are the same, we will definitely lose. Our armaments alone are not at the same level."

"A few days ago, at the ceremony to confer the title of Crown Prince of the Ming court, the latest firearms were displayed, the matchlock gun. Its power is still unknown, but it is definitely much stronger than the previous musket."

"As for firearms, we don't have much right now. We only have a few cannons, both large and small, and very few fire bombs. If we really fight, I'm afraid we'll have to use them all up."

Hearing this, Wang Jingangnu muttered in dissatisfaction: "Mr. Gao, what you said is just to boost others' morale and destroy your own prestige. If you say so, then we might as well surrender directly. Why fight?"

Gao Fuxing immediately looked at the rough bald man Wang Jingangnu with displeasure.

Bang!

Tian Jiucheng slapped Wang Jingangnu hard on the forehead and scolded him, "Sir, I am analyzing the situation between the enemy and our army. Why do you want to butt in on this?"

Wang Jingangnu shut up immediately.

He is Tian Jiucheng's trusted subordinate. Before He Miaoshun came in, the three of them were collectively called the Three Marshals. In fact, Wang Jingangnu and Tian Jiucheng were together.

In fact, the earliest leaders of the uprising were Tian Jiucheng and two others.

Gao Fuxing was dragged into this, and He Miaoshun himself was a member of the White Lotus Sect.

"Mr. Gao, please continue." Tian Jiu said with a smile.

Gao Fuxing didn't seem to take it seriously and continued, "According to the current situation, the Ming court wants to conquer Japan. A few days ago, news came out that a large amount of fertile land was discovered in Liaodong, and the Ming court wants to send a large army to guard and cultivate it."

"So we have found the worst opportunity right now. At this time, the Ming court will definitely mobilize a large army to quickly suppress us."

"The best way is to avoid their attack for the time being."

Tian Jiucheng also knew some news about the Ming court. After thinking for a while, he replied, "I understand what Mr. Gao means, but how should we avoid it?"

Gao Fuxing did not hesitate, and he had obviously already had some ideas. He said directly: "First of all, we need to know when the Ming army will arrive, so that we can have enough time to prepare."

"Now the land is desolate and it is the coldest time of the year. If the army of the capital were to march overland, it would not only take a long time, but the soldiers would also be exhausted."

"Then the only option for the capital is to take the water route and reach Hanzhong directly without having to worry about the soldiers being tired. According to this calculation, the capital's army can reach Hanzhong in less than a month."

Hearing this, Tian Jiucheng, Wang Jingangnu, and He Miaoshun all panicked.

Originally, in their minds, the army from the capital would set out at least in the first month of the year, and would take two months to arrive.

Now after Gao Fuxing said this, they realized that they had not much time left, only a short month.

Tian Jiucheng said solemnly, "Please give me some advice, Mr. Gao."

Gao Fuxing nodded, and this time he didn't say anything perfunctory. He said seriously: "We can't resist. Our only way out is to hide in the mountains and avoid the sharp edge."

Tian Jiucheng said unwillingly: "But in this way, our foundation will be completely abandoned."

The good days have just begun, but Tian Jiucheng has already proclaimed himself Emperor Ming of Han. Now he has run away to the mountains, being no different from a bandit. How can we accept this?

Gao Fuxing sighed, "This is the only way. If I'm not mistaken, the soldiers coming this time are likely to be dukes. No matter who they are, what can we do to resist them? The only way to survive is to avoid them completely."

"We only have to wait until the spring, when the war with Japan begins and involves the Ming army, before we have a chance of survival."

Gao Fuxing was a wise man. He knew that it was impossible for them to keep pursuing the Ming Dynasty. That was why he decided to rebel at this time.

Tian Jiucheng's expression changed. After hesitating for a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "Of course I will listen to Mr. Gao, but if we leave, we must not leave them any benefits."

"Since we are going to stay in the mountains for several months, we will scrape the ground three feet deep, take away everything that can be taken away, destroy the farmland, and burn down the houses. What I want the Ming court to get is only an empty city."

After that, he turned to He Miaoshun and said, "Heavenly King He, please contact those merchants and ask them to support us with as much food, fodder and weapons as possible within half a month."

He Miaoshun said with some difficulty: "These merchants only care about money. They have food, but not weapons."

Tian Jiucheng sneered and said, "We will break into Huizhou tomorrow and loot for three days. All the property will be given to them. Since we are in the mountains, the money will be useless, so why keep it?"

"As long as they are willing to bring it in, it doesn't matter how much money they bring."

"Even if I write them an IOU, that's fine."

Tian Jiucheng has now figured out that his title of Emperor Ming of Han has almost no effect except to enhance his prestige. It is good to be able to use this title to exchange for some food, fodder and weapons.

When Gao Fuxing heard this, his eyes lit up.

He finally saw that the wise leader he had chosen had returned again, instead of being deceived by those businessmen.

As long as I can hide for a few months, even if I can't establish my own territory and become a mountain king, it's not impossible.

…

"If they hide in the mountains, what should we do, Grandson?"

In the Ming Imperial Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang was roasting by the fire and asked with a smile.

Zhu Ying said: "If there are smart people in their army, they will understand that hiding in the mountains is the only option."

"It's a good idea to hide in there. Then we can send a message to the southwest and trap the rebels in the mountains. It can be used as a training ground for soldiers."

The Xuanjia Guards originally lacked special training in the mountains, and this trip to suppress the rebels was a good opportunity to train up some new recruits.

Zhu Ying had no intention of using this batch of new recruits to conquer Japan and suppress Liao, but instead turned his attention to Annan again.

Zhu Ying never gave up his thoughts on Annan, but for the Ming Dynasty's soldiers, there were many jungles there and they were not familiar with strategic conquests.

Currently, there are only 50,000 elite troops in Annan, which does not fit Zhu Ying's idea of ​​a Southwest Expeditionary Force.

At least 200,000 soldiers are needed to completely open up the situation in the entire southwest region.

But it's not just Annan, there is no reason for Zhu Ying to let go of small countries including Siam, Marmara, Jiaolan, Java, etc.

The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are not used to jungle warfare, but they can be trained slowly.

Siamese fragrant rice is extremely famous in later generations, and there are also many fruit specialties that can be incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

There was only one thing Zhu Ying had to do, and that was to expand the territory, educate the barbarians, and spread the Central Plains culture during his lifetime.

It also saves future generations from having too complicated language.

"Let your eldest grandson handle the matter of the rebels himself. A few petty thieves can't cause much trouble."

"What makes me feel a little strange is that no civil officials opposed the military academy during the morning court today. It's a bit strange."

Zhu Yuanzhang said.

He was even planning to take action against a few civil officials as an example, but they refused to mention the Military Academy, as if they had never heard of it.

Even if he sets the rules, everyone will cooperate.

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "Grandpa controls the world, how dare these officials go against Grandpa's wishes."

"Besides, the current separation of the military and politics means that the power in the hands of civil officials has increased instead of decreased. If we really want to confront the military officers, we will only bring trouble upon ourselves."

"There are still a few people who understand."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. He had naturally thought of this, but the fact that the civil officials did not make any unusual moves seemed unusual.

You have to know that there were some different voices before.

"Forget it, let the Jinyiwei keep a close eye on them. If they dare to do anything behind our backs, they will be killed."

"Now the army is almost ready. We will set out after the 15th. The focus after the redress will be on Japan."

"We have hated the Japanese for a long time. This time we must let them know how powerful our Ming Dynasty is."

Zhu Yuanzhang gets angry when talking about Japan.

After enduring for so many years, I finally have the chance to take revenge.

Three days later, it was the Lantern Festival.

Needless to say, the capital was bustling with activity, and with the arrival of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the army had already begun to prepare to set off.

All the docks near the capital will be strictly controlled in the next two days, with thousands of warships docked densely.

As soon as the Lantern Festival was over, he immediately went out to redress the injustice.

The commander in chief of this rehabilitation was Lan Yu.

"Duke Liang, congratulations, you are in charge of the army again."

"If those rebels knew that the commander-in-chief this time was the Duke of Liang, they would be scared to death."

"Of course not. The reputation of the Duke of Liang is well known throughout the Ming Dynasty. It is a great blessing for these rebels to be suppressed by the Duke of Liang himself."

"The wine we are drinking here is not a wine for the expedition, it is clearly a celebratory wine for the Duke of Liang."

In the Lan Mansion, all the Huaixi military generals and nobles in the capital came.

It is to congratulate Lan Yu.

Rehabilitation is just a sign. The most important key is that it shows that the Huaixi military generals will truly be valued by the Crown Prince.

Instead of being just a decoration like before.

Lan Yu picked up the wine glass, looking very proud, and stood up and said loudly: "Let's drink together!"