Chapter 82 Discussion
Zhu Yuhuan naturally could not hear Zhu Qizhen's voice. With Mu Ang, a general who had repeatedly conquered Luchuan, around, they quickly set a date for the expedition to Luchuan. As soon as December arrived, the army officially attacked Luchuan.
There is a lot of miasma in the Luchuan area, which is most severe in spring and summer. Only after winter comes, the miasma will stop spreading everywhere. In order to prevent the soldiers' attack power from being greatly reduced due to the miasma, the army must fight quickly and decisively.
Therefore, the main generals who were going to attack Luchuan gathered together to discuss how to attack Luchuan.
The chief speaker of the meeting was Wang Ji, the Minister of War, while Zhu Yuhuan sat at the top to make the final decision. Jiang Gui, Lieutenant General Li An and others spoke in turn, reporting on the soldiers' training, whether the logistical supplies were complete, and whether the equipment was ready. However, the most important person was Mu Ang, who had just returned from southern Yunnan.
"The winter weather is favorable for our army, and we have ample manpower this time. We should seize this opportunity and wipe out Luchuan in one fell swoop to eliminate the threat once and for all."
Seeing Wang Ji's excited look when planning the attack on Luchuan, Mu Ang subconsciously looked cautiously at Zhu Yuhuan above him.
Previously, he fought hard in Luchuan and tried his best. His subordinate Zhang Rongchi was defeated in the attack on Mangbu, and Mu Ang was too far away to rescue in time. After the army returned, the court sent news that he was demoted two levels from the commander-in-chief to the governor-general.
Mu Ang has been obedient now. He has no title to begin with, and is just temporarily taking over his brother's position. As a result, his official position gets lower and lower. Mu Ang would rather do nothing. He won't be demoted any further, right?
According to Wang Ji, they are now acting according to their own discretion and not completely obeying the court's words, but since Princess Shunde is accompanying them, Wang Ji and others have to refer to her opinions.
When Mu Ang received Toghto Boluo in southern Yunnan, Toghto Boluo had already asked about the border situation on behalf of Princess Shunde. Although there was no blame, his words were essentially asking why Mu Ang was so slow in handling the border issue.
Mu Ang immediately became more cautious. The Princess of Shunde was not someone who could be easily fooled. She was clearly using Toghto Boluo to warn him that he must be even more cautious when he returned to Kunming.
Zhu Yuhuan naturally noticed Mu Ang's gaze and said with a smile, "While Minister Wang and General Jiang are veterans of many battles, they don't understand Yunnan and Luchuan as well as Tongzhi Mu. Moreover, Tongzhi Mu wrote to Your Majesty that day to divide the troops into three groups. I believe he had already made the decision. Therefore, Tongzhi Mu should come first to discuss strategy today."
Mu Ang thought that the first thing Princess Shunde would ask him was why he had not returned to Kunming yet. He was stunned for a moment, and it took him a long time to come to his senses and quickly explain his opinion.
As early as when the previous Duke of Qian, Mu Sheng, led his army to attack Luchuan, Mu Ang had already joined the army. His understanding of the terrain, climate, and enemy was thorough, and his analysis was more profound than Zhang Fu's.
After calming himself, Mu Ang walked to the map in the center of the tent and pointed to the route on it. He said, "Luchuan has plundered the border several times and gained a little, which is why they are so rampant. But the arrogant will be defeated, not to mention that Luchuan is a small place with rugged terrain, and there are very few places for the Luchuan army to station. Our army is well-managed and divided into three groups. The main force will move south along the Lu River and attack head-on, while the other group will attack the heart of Luchuan from the east to disrupt their formation. Si Renfa saw that if his army saw that it was defeated, it would definitely flee.
Seeing that he was in high spirits, Zhu Yuhuan asked in a flattering manner, "Based on Mu Tongzhi's experience, where would Si escape from?"
"Luchuan's location is in a dangerous area, and there aren't many places where we can retreat quickly. In my humble opinion, Gaoligong Mountain is the most likely location!" Mu Ang didn't make any promises, but his expression was very firm. He said, "The remaining route will block Luchuan's escape route from the west. When the final opportunity comes, we will encircle them from three sides and we will definitely be able to capture Luchuan in one fell swoop!"
While talking, he had already drawn three routes on the map.
Zhu Yuhuan nodded slightly and said, "Mr. Mu's words make sense. Si Renfa and the Luchuan army are quite familiar with the terrain. We need to have sufficient troops to cut off their retreat. Otherwise, I'm afraid their escape speed will be faster than their attack speed."
After listening to Mu Ang's analysis, Jiang Gui already had a tactic in mind, and he felt more confident. He said slowly, "Your Highness, don't worry. The army will march south to encircle Luchuan. Even if Si Renfa is cunning and treacherous, he will not be able to escape."
Seeing his confident expression, Zhu Yuhuan smiled faintly and said, "Luchuan is only a tiny place, but this is the southwest. Luchuan knows this land better than we do, not to mention the enemy's cunning tactics. Si Renfa surrendered and then rebelled again. He previously shamelessly went to the capital to pay tribute, and now he is ambitiously invading the border. Such a traitor has no credibility. Since the army has surrounded Luchuan, we must completely slaughter the Si family, leaving no one alive, to eliminate this threat forever."
Seeing her say such cruel words with a smile on her face, everyone was stunned at first, and then they thought of the emperor who was leading the war in the capital, and they couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
I have to say that these two siblings do have some similarities, but the emperor's edge is on the outside, while the eldest princess's edge is on the inside. Because of the inner edge, the emperor seems to be superficial.
Of course, the most important thing is that the eldest princess’ words invisibly represent the emperor’s intentions.
Mu Ang was originally arrogant because of his strategic planning, but after hearing the words of the eldest princess, he suddenly felt uneasy and felt that he could not stay in the tent any longer.
People like Princess Shunde did not scold him at that time, but smiled at him. She seemed to be friendly, but she had already "exposed her true nature" in her previous words. I'm afraid she has more tricks up her sleeve.
Everyone fell silent, and Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
She didn't say that she wanted to destroy Luchuan's country and race, but just wanted to kill the entire Si family to make an example of them. After all, Si Renfa took over the burden of harassing the Ming Dynasty from his father and brother. If there was another foreign version of Orphan of Zhao, it would only be a repeat of Luchuan's harassment of Yunnan.
Finally, Wang Ji spoke up, "Your Highness is absolutely right. Luchuan is erratic and has repeatedly harassed the southwestern border of the Ming Dynasty. If such a traitor and despicable villain is not beheaded and displayed publicly, it will be difficult to deter small border states like us."
Zhu Yuhuan nodded gently, his face full of approval, and said, "Since this is the case, we must be even more vigilant against countries like Myanmar to prevent them from colluding with others to deceive us and failing to eradicate them completely."
Li An, who was standing by, was somewhat confused and could not help asking, "Your Highness, Myanmar and other countries are far weaker than the Ming Dynasty. How dare they easily interfere in the war between the two countries?"
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