Chapter 86: First Victory
Time passed quickly and winter came in the blink of an eye. The winter in Yunnan was not as cold as that in the capital, but it was very dry. It was a good time to attack. Fortunately, Zhu Yuhuan had gradually gotten used to the climate. He followed the same schedule and training schedule as the other soldiers every day, and occasionally gave instructions to Huai En beside him.
Soon Zhu Yuhuan became much darker. Seeing this, Jiang Guidu could not help but advise Zhu Yuhuan to take a proper rest. Even if the princess went with the army, she would not go into the battlefield to kill people herself. She should just encourage the soldiers to do the job. Why should she be so diligent?
What's more, if the princess continues to be so evil, I'm afraid everyone in the capital, from top to bottom, will think that they are mistreating her.
Unlike Jiang Gui and others, the soldiers who had previously witnessed the princess's accurate shooting were even more convinced after seeing her efforts.
The precious members of the Heavenly Family are able to achieve such a degree without ever complaining about the hardship or tiredness. Even the soldiers who train every day to save their lives are not as hardworking.
Just as October began, before the middle of the month, news of Si Renfa's "surrender" quickly spread. At this time, the command center was no longer in Kunming, but was moving south with the advance of the Ming army, getting closer and closer to Luchuan, which was helpful for quickly commanding the front-line troops to fight.
According to Si Renfa, Luchuan's invasion of the Ming Dynasty's border was a "helpless act" and he was willing to return Zhenkang to show his sincerity in submitting to the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help laughing when he heard the soldiers read the surrender document sent by Si Renfa.
When she smiled, everyone was stunned at first, and then they couldn't help but laugh too.
This is not because they are "flattering", but after realizing the reason why Si Renfa acted like this, anyone would want to laugh.
Si Renfa had already fooled Zhu Qizhen by surrendering before. Did he expect to fool them again by using the same trick?
Tens of thousands of troops are almost at Luchuan's doorstep. Si Renfa is trying to persuade these people who are ready to risk their lives to make great achievements to go back with such a crappy document. To say that he is "naive" can be regarded as a compliment to him.
Zhu Yuhuan finally stopped laughing and cleared her throat. "How dare you take such a piece of crap? It seems we should build more official schools in the southwest to educate these Luchuan bandits." She took the surrender letter and said with a smile, "Si Renfa is so 'sincere', how can we not accept it?"
Everyone understood that the eldest princess's intention was to go along with Si Renfa's intention on the surface, accept Si Renfa's "land donation", and maintain a state of confrontation on this front.
As for other places, the attack should continue. Anyway, by then the Ming army will have completely taken over Zhenkang. As long as the supply can keep up, no matter how angry Si Renfa is, he will not have the strength to fight against the well-equipped Ming army.
"Didn't he send a troop to surrender?" Zhu Yuhuan casually tossed the surrender letter aside and said with a smile, "The general they surrendered to... Dao Menpeng, since he's surrendering, he should at least show some sincerity, at least a letter of surrender."
By the time Zhenkangzhou was captured, no matter whether Daomen Bong's surrender was real or fake, the surrender had become an fait accompli. Daomen Bong's only choice was to obey or seek his own death.
Wang Ji was also a seasoned veteran, so he quickly understood Zhu Yuhuan's intentions and said, "Let him lead the charge to defeat Xici Village and prove his loyalty to the Ming Dynasty."
Jiang Gui looked at the location on the map and said, "So, the army is already close to the Luchuan stronghold, and all they have to do is cross the Lujiang River."
Zhu Yuhuan calculated the messenger's speed and said, "In this case, the main force needs to attack as soon as possible and cooperate well with this Daomen Peng to achieve the effect of surprise."
Wang Ji nodded slightly and said, "After Daomen Bang surrenders, Ran Bao will continue his advance according to the original plan. The camp will be officially disbanded tomorrow and we will be ready to launch a joint attack."
The plan went surprisingly smoothly. In early November, the completed warships were launched across the river. The opposing Luchuan troops, originally intent on repairing their defenses, were ill-equipped to withstand the warships. The relentless firing of their muskets transformed the wooden fences originally used for defense into weapons for the Ming army, enabling them to quickly capture the Luchuan frontier positions.
Wang Ji went to supervise the battle in person, while Zhu Yuhuan stayed behind to take charge. After all, she was a princess. Today was the first step for the Ming army to cross the Lujiang River, which was several times more dangerous than the previous small-scale battles. Zhu Yuhuan naturally had no chance to fight in person, but only watched from afar as the Luchuan camp was gradually engulfed in flames.
Huai En stood beside Zhu Yuhuan, looking at the sea of fire in the distance, and couldn't help feeling a sense of fear in his heart.
Fortunately, he was born in the Ming Dynasty and fortunately, he was born in this era.
Huai En couldn't help but look down at Zhu Yuhuan, only to see that her profile was still calm, staring at the sky thoughtfully, and she didn't seem happy about the Ming army's advantage.
Huai En was a little confused when Zhu Yuhuan said, "It seems the wind is very strong. This kind of weather is perfect for burning the camp..."
Li An, who was in charge of the guard nearby, couldn't help but ask, "There hasn't been much wind these days. Why do you say that, Your Highness?"
Ever since he was taught a lesson by the eldest princess, Lian has been particularly concerned about her. It's not that he doesn't respect Zhu Yuhuan, but he is a little confused as to how the eldest princess, who has almost never left Northern Zhili, can have vision and ability that are not inferior to those of the border generals.
Zhu Yuhuan pointed to the clouds in the sky and said, "Look at the clouds over there. They are shaped like ripples, which is a sign of wind." After she said that, she realized that what Li An wanted to know was not the clouds, but why she made such a judgment.
Meeting Li An's gaze, Zhu Yuhuan said, "This is what I learned from Master Liu. Everything in the sky is a confirmation of everything on earth. For example, the constellations and cloud formations are closely related to the people and events on earth."
Li An fell silent after hearing this. Huai En, who was standing beside him, coughed and said calmly, "Your Highness once studied Taoism with the Great Master Changchun, Liu Yuanran, so it's natural that he would have dabbled in astrology and other things."
Others who practice Taoism inevitably fall into a strange circle of superstition, and only Zhu Yuhuan would apply this diverse range of knowledge.
Seeing him like this, Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Your Highness! Our army has entered the camp on the west bank of Luchuan and is currently clearing out the bandits. Minister Wang requests that Your Highness withdraw the camp and cross the river by boat."
Zhu Yuhuan stood up, waved his hand, and said, "Let's go."
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