Chapter 83 A Little Hesitation
As soon as he said this, everyone around him looked at him, especially Jiang Gui, the commander-in-chief, who showed a look of disappointment.
How could the Duke of Ju have given birth to such a son... Is now the time to ask this? The princess has said so much, and she still doesn't understand! No wonder she was demoted to the lowest position as a descendant of nobles! If it weren't for the new emperor ascending the throne, this kid probably wouldn't have been able to fight on the battlefield in his lifetime...
The eldest princess even said that she would not leave any child behind, which undoubtedly meant that she intended to get rid of Luchuan completely.
Once Luchuan is razed, Myanmar and the Ming Dynasty will come into direct conflict. In order to protect itself, Myanmar will also support the Luchuan Si family to oppose the Ming Dynasty. Is there any need to ask?
Zhu Yuhuan wasn't angry at Li An's question. He simply said, "A weak country can only fight against a strong country by sticking together. Luchuan and Myanmar are interdependent. With the army approaching, how can Myanmar not feel the coldness of losing both teeth and lips?"
Although Zhu Qizhen's original intention was to use Luchuan to scare others, for those small countries, it might be Luchuan today, but it could be themselves tomorrow.
Not to mention that Myanmar was not among the unconquered countries established by Zhu Yuanzhang. Moreover, even Annan was also ruled by the Ming Dynasty, right?
In this case, it was clear to Li An that he made sense, and he responded with a blushing face.
Although he was a descendant of a noble family, he lacked talent. After his father, Li Yuan, Duke of Ju, passed away, Li An inherited the title of Earl of Anping, but was never given much importance. In the first year of the Hongxi reign, he was appointed Lieutenant General of Jiaozhi, but was demoted for failing to enforce military discipline. If it weren't for the new emperor's ascension to the throne, Li An would likely have never had a chance to rise again, and the title his father had earned by following Taizong in the rebellion would have been lost forever.
Because of this, Li An was eager to make achievements in order to prove his ability and gain more trust from the emperor.
Li An was indeed puzzled by Princess Shunde's caution, but he didn't expect that he had inadvertently exposed his own shallowness.
Zhu Yuhuan noticed Li An's embarrassment and continued, "Who among those sitting inside the tent today, or standing outside with their weapons, doesn't want to achieve great things? Who doesn't want to be honored? Precisely because of this, we must act with caution. Whether it's fighting in battle, cutting off retreat, or transporting supplies, passion alone is far from enough. The closer we get to a major battle, the more we must weigh our every move."
Her words gave Li An a way out, and everyone agreed.
In fact, Zhu Yuhuan asked them to be wary of Myanmar and other countries for another reason, but it was difficult to explain it to them due to various reasons.
Ever since Zhu Zhanji withdrew Jiaozhi, the Ming Dynasty's prestige in the southwest was almost gone. For these small countries, even if the Ming Dynasty defeated them, it would not be able to control them permanently under such circumstances. Not to mention that there were peasant uprisings and local officials within the Ming Dynasty, and the increasingly powerful Oirat in the north. It was impossible for the Ming Dynasty to invest large amounts of capital into Annan day after day as Zhu Di did in the past.
As long as the Ming army withdraws at that time, taking Luchuan as an example, as long as Si Renfa is alive, there will always be a day when "spring breeze blows and he will be reborn."
Whether it was Wang Ji, Jiang Gui, or Li An, they all still firmly believed that the Ming Dynasty still had absolute majesty and ruling power in the neighboring countries. But the fact was that the cessation of voyages to the West and the withdrawal from Annan caused the Ming Dynasty to degenerate from an empire to a weak entity in the eyes of neighboring countries.
These policies were beneficial at the time, but as time went on, the negative side gradually became apparent. Now they seem like trivial matters to people, but when these trivial matters accumulate, they are enough to develop into a terrible chronic disease that will gradually bring down the country.
If possible, Zhu Yuhuan also hopes to incorporate Luchuan into the territory of the Ming Dynasty. As long as he stays there for a long time and develops it well, he will always be able to gain something from this land. However, the local officials within the Ming Dynasty have not been dealt with yet, let alone controlling foreign countries.
Moreover, the environment in Luchuan is really too bad, making it inconvenient for Ming officials to govern, and it will take a long time to recover the costs. It would be better to use the human resources to sort out Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou and other places in the country first.
Therefore, a more lenient approach to dealing with Luchuan after the war would be to take back the lands of the Yunnan Provincial Government and the native officials that had been occupied by Luchuan, and to exterminate the Si clan and establish an obedient Luchuan king. This would temporarily quell the southwestern border problem.
As for whether to attack Luchuan again, it depends on the speed and level of subsequent development.
Zhu Yuhuan and Wang Ji exchanged glances, and Wang Ji spoke up, "Since the army is to be divided into three groups, there should be a division of labor. What do you think, General Jiang?"
Jiang Gui volunteered, "I am willing to lead a small number of soldiers to attack Luchuan's hinterland via a detour, in order to contain and disperse Luchuan's forces. The rest of the troops will be used to intercept and engage Luchuan head-on."
Jiang Gui is a veteran general who is more sensitive to changes in the situation and has many years of experience in leading troops in battle. Even if he has fewer troops under his command, he is still capable of playing a greater role.
Wang Ji also spoke up, "I request that you lead your troops to attack Luchuan head-on in order to win over Si Renfa's generals and civilians."
Although Wang Ji was in charge of military affairs, he was a civil servant after all, and was proficient in both civil and military affairs. It was natural for him to fight and persuade at the same time.
Zhu Yuhuan nodded slightly, agreeing to the two men's request to fight, and then set his eyes on the western line of the map.
In the eyes of everyone, eliminating Si Renfa is not a difficult task, and the probability of Si Renfa being able to escape successfully is extremely small.
But if Si Renfa really succeeds in escaping, then the western front becomes the most important link. On a larger scale, it is related to whether the Ming Dynasty can completely eliminate the Si family and whether its military power will be tied down by Luchuan in the next few years.
Jiang Gui pondered for a moment, then stood up and said, "I recommend that Commander-in-Chief Li An defend the western front and provide logistics for both fronts."
Li An was indeed too rash just now, but he is of a certain age and comes from a noble family. He should not make mistakes if he is given the task of preventing problems before they occur. It would be better to take this opportunity to let him restore his image in front of Princess Shunde.
Jiang Gui knew very well that the eldest princess had the power to submit memorials to the emperor individually. She could record their performance anytime and anywhere and tell the emperor the truth. If Li An did not "make amends", he would not get any reward even if he won the battle - the eldest princess Shunde was still watching there.
Li An's original intention was naturally to go to the eastern front with Jiang Gui.
A surprise attack on the Luchuan hinterland on the eastern front would make it easier to get kills to satisfy military merit. At the very least, a frontal battle would be better than the western front. However, Jiang Gui had a higher rank and took the initiative to speak for him, so Li An couldn't refuse him in person.
Unexpectedly, Princess Shunde was silent for a while, then said, "There's no rush for this matter. Let me think about it."
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