Annan is not a monolithic entity.

The contradiction between local troops and the central army has always been extremely sharp.

The central army looked down on the poor local army, and the local army believed that the central army took away too many supplies.

For example, right now, there is an endless debate in Hu Jima's Prime Minister's Office over the logistics ratio.

Everyone thinks that their army should get more food and pay.

Hu Jima also felt a headache.

In fact, according to the original plan, he wanted to slowly take back the military power of these local troops.

Because of his relationship with the previous king of Annan, Hu Jima had a great influence in the local army, and many of the generals under the command of these local army commanders were Hu Jima's men.

More than half of the stewards were once arranged by Hu Jimao.

However, due to the situation, Hu Jima had no choice but to call all the people back.

"The war must be fought, it just depends on how we fight it now."

"The Ming army has now gathered in Longzhou, and the two passes of Aiyi and Jiling are ahead of them."

"Although these two levels are not bad, it is definitely very difficult to stop the Ming army. It depends on whether we can cause some damage to the Ming army."

"I intend to mobilize 150,000 troops to guard the two passes of Aiyi and Jiling respectively to weaken the Ming army's morale. Do you have any opinions?"

Hu Jima spoke calmly to all the local military commanders present.

He knew very well that he could no longer avoid it.

Although the current situation is not very good, Hu Jima also has the capital to rebel.

The terrain characteristics of Annan are not conducive to large-scale military operations, and it is difficult for the Central Plains Army to stay in the Annan region for a long time.

It was indeed difficult to defeat the Ming army, and considering the quality of the troops on both sides, it was almost impossible.

But Hu Jima did not need to confront the main force of the Ming army. He only needed to try every possible means to delay time. If the war was delayed long enough, the combat effectiveness of the Ming army would continue to decline, and finally reach the point of self-destruction.

Around the Aiyi and Jiling passes, Hu Jima took advantage of Annan's terrain advantages, dug trenches near the rivers in the northern territory, built defensive fortresses, and densely placed bows, crossbows and firearms.

Their bows, crossbows and firearms were all soaked in poisonous water. Just opening a wound would surely kill a person.

The city walls were connected for 900 miles, and a large number of militiamen were recruited for defense.

Annan is mainly located in the east and west capitals.

The eastern capital is Thang Long and the western capital is Thanh Hoa.

These can also be said to be the two political and cultural centers of Annan. Once these two capitals are lost, it means that the entire territory of Annan will be completely taken over.

After Aiyi and Jiling is Duobang City.

Duobang City is the northern gateway of Annam and its geographical location is very important.

Once opened, it would become very difficult for both the East and the West to stop the Ming army.

In other words, Dobang City would be the important place for the decisive battle between Annan and the Ming army.

Hu Jima felt calm.

Because he had already arranged his own secret weapon in Dobang City.

With this secret weapon, he believed that he could definitely inflict huge casualties on the Ming army.

…

On the Ming side, the 300,000 troops formed a very long line as they marched.

Because the mountain roads are rugged and the jungle is dense, it is very difficult for most people to walk.

Ye Sheng, Marquis of Jingning, who had led troops for a long time, soon realized the problem.

He immediately called Chen Huan, Marquis of Puding.

"Our army is too numerous and the movement is difficult. Ahead are the Aiyi and Jiling passes. If we go straight in and try to take them down in one go, we will inevitably suffer heavy casualties."

"You divide your troops into 100,000 and take a detour from the left side. We will attack from two directions."

"This way, we can break through the level faster."

Marquis Puding Chen Huan nodded in approval.

When traveling on such a narrow road, it is not a good thing if the front and rear of the army are pulled too far apart.

From time to time, some Annan guerrillas would harass the surrounding area.

However, it does not pose any danger to the Ming army for the time being.

Defensive fortifications like those built by Hu Jima were completely meaningless to the Ming army.

The efficient range of the matchlock gun is enough to make them targets.

The enemy's bows, crossbows and firearms could not reach the Ming army at all.

Especially artillery bombardment.

When you come across one of these small fortifications, it's usually a matter of hitting them with a few shots.

Zhu Ying attached great importance to firearms, not only in the modification of the matchlock gun, but also in the accuracy of the artillery.

It has always been the focus of research of the Gunpowder Bureau.

Although there has not been a revolutionary improvement, the accuracy is now much higher than before.

For fixed positions, it has already reached one in ten.

That is to say, out of ten artillery shells, basically one will hit the target, with an error of only about ten steps.

This level of accuracy is already very high.

You have to know that the previous artillery was completely a random shot, with an error range of more than fifty steps. There was no accuracy at all. For both the enemy and us, it was simply a matter of fate.

Firearms with longer range and artillery with higher accuracy made Hu Jima's arrangements completely useless, and he could only passively accept the baptism of guns and artillery.

The Ming Dynasty didn't care about the consumption of gunpowder at all.

There is a gunpowder manufacturing factory in Guangxi Prefecture, which can supply the army in less than a month.

Marquis Puding Chen Huan led 100,000 soldiers to take a detour, and the Ming army's marching speed became even faster.

When there are too many soldiers, the marching speed cannot be increased at all.

Half a month later.

The two armies arrived at Aiyi Pass.

Aiyi Pass is as its name suggests, the terrain is even narrower and some roads can only be passed by two people.

Normally, it would be very time-consuming and labor-intensive to attack a city.

If it were earlier, it would have been a real hassle for the Ming army to capture the city.

Unfortunately, with the development of artillery and muskets, such a critical moment is no longer a strong obstacle.

It’s still a simple push.

Artillery bombarded and muskets cleared the way.

This method of warfare is simple and crude, but also invincible.

If you want to block the artillery bombardment, only relatively large cities can do so. Small checkpoints like Aiyi Pass and Jiling Pass are difficult to block.

Thirty cannons were set up in front of Jiling Pass.

"The Marquis has ordered, fire!!!"

Boom boom boom boom boom!!!

Thirty cannons were aimed at the city wall of Jiling Pass and bombarded it continuously.

The bombing lasted for nearly two quarters of an hour before they took a short break.

When the smoke and ashes cleared, the Jimingguan Tower was no longer there; it had become a ruin.

Following the order issued by Jingning Hou Ye Sheng, the Ming army's sword and shield soldiers guarded the front, while the musketeers followed suit.

There was no effective resistance.

When the city tower was bombarded, the Annan soldiers were already frightened out of their wits, and the defending generals didn't even have a chance to escape.

His luck was very bad. He was hit by a cannon at the very beginning and his body was already buried under the rubble.

…

The situation here is very good for Jingning Hou Ye Sheng, and Puding Hou Chen Huan is also making great progress.

The current combat effectiveness of the Ming army can be said to be at the peak of the peak.

Because a large number of middle-level officers did not die in the Lan Yu case, the overall execution capability of the army was extremely strong.

In addition, Zhu Ying had previously trained many talented military officers, and the tactical arrangements in all aspects were very detailed and meticulous.

Compared with the Ming Dynasty, the Annan Army seems to be still in the same state as a hundred years ago.

Because of the climate in Southeast Asia, the humid environment makes it difficult for firearms to develop significantly.

You should know that in the original history, Zhu Di only arranged Zhang Fu to pacify Annan.

Although Zhang Fu was outstanding, he was not even a little bit inferior to famous founding generals such as Ye Sheng, Marquis of Jingning, and Chen Huan, Marquis of Puding.

The army during Zhu Di's period was slightly inferior to the current Ming army.

Even so, Zhang Fu was able to crush them all.

Not to mention Ye Sheng and Chen Huan now.

Apart from the influence of climate, nothing else was a problem for the Ming army.

It was also at this time that Zhu Ying's order reached the Ming navy, which had been staying in Champa waters.

At the same time, he sent orders to Champa to cooperate with the Ming navy to attack Annan together.

Champa received news from the Ming Dynasty.

It was so jubilant.

Champa is the sworn enemy of Annan, and the war between the two sides has lasted for hundreds of years. Now that the Ming Dynasty is attacking Annan, Champa will naturally follow suit.

In fact, looking at the map, Annan seems to be closer to Lan Xang, but in history, there seems to be no war between Annan and Lan Xang.

Among them, Annan belongs to the Han cultural circle, while Lancang has nothing to do with it at all.

The main reason for this is the Changshan Mountains that span the Indochina Peninsula.

The Truong Son Mountains are located in the eastern part of the Indochina Peninsula. They are the dividing mountain range between Annam and Lan Xang. They run roughly from northwest to southeast, slanting across the entire territory of Annam and directly into the sea between Hue and Da Nang in central Annam.

The place called Lan Xang Kingdom is what later became Laos.

The name Laos only appeared in records in the mid-Ming Dynasty.

The Lancang Kingdom was established in the 13th year of Zhizheng in the Yuan Dynasty, 14 years earlier than Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty.

It is precisely because of the obstruction of the Changshan Mountains that it is difficult for Lancang to have any connection with the Central Plains.

There was no communication between Annan and Lancang due to the obstruction of mountains.

For Annan, to the north is the Ming Dynasty. As a vassal state, Annan can only rely on its unique climate for protection. Talking about invading the Guangxi region of the Ming Dynasty is a complete joke.

It really is like having your head pressed to the ground and rubbed.

Therefore, for Annan, its only development direction is Champa.

Historically, Annan did eventually completely annex Champa.

The reason why Annan was able to gradually erode Champa had a lot to do with the fact that Annan had occupied Haiyunling in the early days.

If Shanhaiguan is the most important pass in the Central Plains.

Then the important location of Haiyunling is as important as Shanhaiguan.

For Annan, it was extremely easy to go south. They could come and go as they pleased. Only a small number of troops were needed to resist the Champa army.

Historical exchanges mostly involve Annan’s invasion of Champa.

This feeling is like the grassland to the Central Plains dynasty.

Therefore, the people of Champa hated Annan very much.

Now that we have the opportunity, how can we not seize it?

At this time, the Ming navy that stayed at the port of Champa played a very important role.

The first is the comprehensive control of the coastal areas of Annan.

Annan’s navy is actually quite good, but compared with the Ming navy, it is not even enough to fill the gaps in one’s teeth.

At this time, Champa Port.

Jin Kaishan was leisurely sea fishing.

Compared with life in Yu Daming, life here is much freer, which makes Jin Kaishan feel very comfortable.

He was very glad that he had taken on the task of escorting Concubine Yue here.

Now we are stationed in Champa according to the order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and we are living a very happy life.

Although the Ming Dynasty was prosperous, it was still quite depressing for the navy.

During the Ming Dynasty, although Jin Kaishan's position was not low, he had too many superiors and had to obey orders from all sides, and he had no say.

When you get to Champa, it’s completely different.

In name, it seems to be a little inferior to Champa King Tea, but in fact, who in the whole of Champa dares to offend himself?

Jin Kaishan, who represented the Ming Dynasty, had no scruples here.

Every day, there would be an endless stream of merchants or court officials from Champa coming to curry favor with him.

Daily drills are basically also in charge of the adjutants below.

He is not so drunken and dissolute as to indulge in money and pleasure. After all, many of his naval officers are graduates of the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Military Academy and are considered to be His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's men.

But as long as it's not too excessive, no one can gossip.

At this time, a small boat came quickly on the sea. Jin Kaishan looked up but didn't pay much attention to it.

The officers and soldiers on the ship were very anxious and shouted from a distance: "Master Jin, Master Jin!"

Jin Kaishan heard that it seemed like there was something urgent, so he ordered the boats to come closer.

"Why are you so impatient?"

"Replying to Lord Jin, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has issued an order, ordering Lord Jin to quickly mobilize the navy stationed in Champa and immediately march to the waters of Annan to cooperate with Marquis Jingning to attack Annan."

Just hearing the title of "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince", Jin Kaishan jumped up from his seat.

After listening to this, he quickly ordered the navy to return to the base.

The next day.

Jin Kaishan led dozens of treasure ships and headed straight for the waters of Annan.

The waters of Champa and the waters of Annan are originally together, so there is no need to waste time on the journey.

We set out early the next morning, before the sun sets.

The entire Annan navy, including its offshore areas, has been completely occupied by Jin Kaishan.

Using the word "occupy" seems to be a bit of an exaggeration.

The takeover seems to be able to more clearly reflect the situation on Jin Kaishan's side.

The moment they saw the Ming navy, all the Annan naval forces chose to surrender without any hesitation.

This made Jin Kaishan feel that he had not achieved anything.

"How the hell am I supposed to write this report?"

Jin Kaishan was still thinking about gaining some military merit. Although this situation can be considered as some merit, there is nothing to write about it in the battle report.

Of course, it is definitely not possible to make up something out of thin air.

All we can write is that when our army arrived, the enemy surrendered across the board.

In less than a day, the entire coastal area of ​​Annan was taken.