Kampong Chhnang City, located not far from the mouth of the lake on the southeast side of the Tonle Sap Lake, has once again heightened its vigilance in the past few days, and more and more small clippers have patrolled the Tonle Sap River in the east of the city from time to time to guard against the Siamese Ming army coming down the river from the northwest.

The shape of these clippers is somewhat like the eagle ships of the Ming Navy, with two sharp ends, no distinction between head and tail, advance and retreat like flying, and strong maneuverability. The hulls of these ships were covered with thatched bamboos around them, and there were holes in the bamboos. In the use of the Daming Naval Division, it is usually used to rush into the enemy line and cooperate with sand boats.

However, the Cambodian army may have been a little inconsiderate when copying the Ming army ships, and even the guns were copied together, and they actually didn't have a few guns available, and even if they did, they wouldn't be used in this kind of patrol imitation eagle boats, not to mention that these eagle boats were still condensed versions, one size smaller than the eagle boats that originally existed as small boats in the Daming Naval Division.

Kampong Ching Yang's guard Musali ignored this, not because he didn't know that these ships were useless, but because even if he did, there was no point in knowing. The Phnom Penh Dynasty was a kingdom that guarded the golden mountains and begged for food, obviously sitting in a good place like the Mekong Delta, but it lacked almost everything except food.

The fact of shipbuilding is too difficult for them, even if it is not easy to copy the small warships of the Ming army and sailors, although these condensed versions of the eagle ships are certainly not enough to fight against the Ming army and navy in Siam, but if they are only reconnaissance ships, they can still make do with one or two.

What Musali wanted to know most now was whether the Ming army would come by water or by land.

If you come by water, you must go straight to Tonle Sap Lake, follow the lake into the Tonle Sap River, and then go straight down to Kampong Chhnang in less than a day.

This Dongle Sap Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, with a length of 1,000 miles and a width of more than 200 miles.

However, since the Angkor Dynasty was defeated by Siam 150 years ago and fled to Phnom Penh to establish the Phnom Penh Dynasty, the Tonle Sap Lake has basically fallen into the hands of the Siamese, and the Cambodians can only hold on to the southeast mouth of the Tonle Sap Lake.

As early as when the Angkor rebels had not been wiped out by Huang Zhiting and Liu Xin, there was a Siamese sailor in the Tonle Sap Lake, and the existence of this sailor was one of the reasons why Kampong Chhnang could only remain on the defensive and did not dare to look west.

Because the Cambodian naval division was completely inadequate, once the land division set out from Kampong Chhnang, no matter where it went, as long as the Siamese army took the naval division warship down the river, it could directly attack Kampong Chhnang.

The strategic hub in the rear is all gone, what else is there to fight on the front line? The Cambodians are not the Mongols of more than 200 years ago, and they can go on expeditions thousands of miles away without logistics, and if they want to go to Siam, the first step is to keep Kampong Chhnang.

This is also the reason why Musari made the pact with the Angkor rebels before he dared to consider sending troops to fight with the Angkor rebels after making sure that the sailors would not threaten Kampong Chhnang.

To put it simply, if Cambodia loses the pound Qingyang, it will be more dangerous than the Ming Dynasty losing Xuanfu and Datong.

And today, Musali suddenly nervously strengthened his guard again, precisely because of the latest information.

The information had just been delivered to him two days ago, and it said that the Ming army of Angkor had changed from the ease of some time before, and carried out an extremely intense mobilization very suddenly, and all the soldiers were asked to return to the barracks, and there were even three steps and one post outside the barracks, and it was impossible to get close to the reconnaissance as they had done some time ago.

At the same time, the officials in the city were also busy allocating grain, grass and various armaments, and several warehouses were temporarily inventoried, and even a clerk was arrested and beheaded on the spot, supposedly because some moldy rice appeared in the warehouse he was in charge of.

In short, all kinds of circumstances show that the Ming army of Angkor is about to make a big move, and they don't even bother to check the Cambodian spies in the city, and all the civilian and military generals look like they are about to send troops urgently. Perhaps, in their opinion, as long as the troops are dispatched quickly enough, the spies will not be able to send the news back to Cambodia in time, especially Kampong Chhnang.

Mussali, of course, was nervous about this, and immediately mobilized and prepared for war. But then again, his nervousness is still very different from that of Geeta I.

This difference is first and foremost between the monarch and the minister, but there is no need to say much about this. The second difference is in Musari's ancestry – his surname is Mu.

This "wood" is not a transliteration, it is really a Chinese surname.

There are two sources of Han surnames in Cambodia, one is directly from "China", and the other is from Annam. But no matter which one it is, it means that his family's ancestors are Han Chinese, or at least have Han Chinese blood.

Cambodia's personal name system is more complicated, the local Khmer people are more popular to use patronymic surnames, while people of Han Chinese descent, and even Khmer people who have intermarried with Han Chinese, most of their descendants follow the Han name principle and always follow their father's surname.

Musari's "wood" is one of these types, and his name is one of the common names of the Khmer people.

As a high-ranking general of the Phnom Penh dynasty in Cambodia, he knows how much Annan has changed in recent years, especially Annan's "naturalized household registration system", which is the focus of his attention.

The patriarchal cultural tradition of the Han people may still have a great influence on him, he has always been proud of the Han blood in his body, and after learning about Annam's "naturalized household registration system", he once proudly said to his cronies on the left and right: "If the Heavenly Dynasty mixes with the southern Xinjiang, I am also a Han person." ”

However, in the end, he is a minister of the Phnom Penh Dynasty, even if the Celestial Empire wants to "mix with the southern frontier", he does not plan to directly raise his hand to surrender - besides, even if he wants to surrender, he must first show his ability and importance before he can surrender. Therefore, he still attaches great importance to the defense of Kampong Chingyang.

After a long time of reconnaissance, there is no news from the Tonle Sap Lake, and Musari thinks that the Ming army of Angkor probably does not plan to come by water.

If you don't take the water route and go by land, there are two possibilities - either from the east of the Tonle Sap Lake, or from the west of the Tonle Sap Lake (Note: The Tonle Sap Lake is a bit like a slender gourd, the specific location of Angkor and Kampong Chhnang, interested friends can search a map to see, which is more intuitive.) )。

But Musali argues that although it would be closer to the east of the Tonle Sap Lake, the Ming army would probably not choose to do so, because in that case, the Ming army would have to attack Kampong Ching Yang and first attack the Tonle Sap River, which has always been synonymous with danger in these days, as well as in southern Xinjiang.

Then the Ming army is most likely to detour west of the Tonle Sap Lake, most likely to repair at Bodhisattva (this is a place name), and then go straight to Kampong Chhnang.

Musali calculated the time, if this is the case, then the Ming army will arrive in Kampong Chhnang tomorrow afternoon at the earliest, and three days later at the latest.

He was running out of time to prepare. Qianqian

He has been in the army for generations and has been guarding Pound Qingyang for seven years, and his spirit is inexplicably excited at this moment: he is famous all over the world in one fell swoop!

Don't seek to completely defeat the Ming army, as long as the Ming army that once defeated the White Elephant King of Jinlou is blocked outside Kampong Chhnang City, he Musali is the first general in Cambodia!

If the war ends in a draw, then when he returns to Phnom Penh in the future, His Majesty the King will definitely lead a hundred civil and military officials to meet him outside the city of Phnom Penh.

It's exciting to think about.

Unfortunately, good thoughts are always interrupted, and an official hurries over with a group of small officials, holding a golden scroll in his hand.

But Musali immediately came to his senses, it was not a scroll, because the official had already held up the "scroll" and shouted: "There is an edict!" ”

Musali hurriedly came down from the top of the White Tiger Festival Hall, knelt down and bowed down, and said, "Ministers Musali respectfully listen to the holy message. ”

"The edict to Mu Sali, the general of the northwest stationed in Kampong Ching Yang: Annam treacherously, and more than 50,000 Ming troops stationed in Champong suddenly started a military provocation, and now they have captured Pliango and are rushing to Phnom Penh. The danger of the society is near, and the urgency of the king is especially urgent. Musali immediately led his troops back to Phnom Penh to protect our flanks. Chin this. ”

Musali was already shocked when he heard this, but then he was stunned and did not react for a long time.

The official was so anxious that he shouted: "General! General Wood! Do you want to resist the decree? ”

Musali was awakened at this time, and hurriedly stretched out his hand to take the edict, but he didn't thank him as usual, and didn't even say a word, he stood up directly, and said nervously: "Bahrain Anlie, the Ming army of 50,000 came from Annan and captured Pulian in one fell swoop?" Is this news true? ”

The official he called Bahrain Anlie was sweating profusely, gasped for breath, and said with difficulty: "I don't know if it's true or not, in short, the holy envoy was so tired when he arrived in Pound Qingyang that he couldn't even stick to the edict, and he fainted when he saw me at that time." However, I guess the news is true, at least Prianggo must have lost it, otherwise His Majesty would not be so anxious - you see how this decree is written, it looks like it was written improvised and sent directly......"

Musari hurriedly opened the decree and took a look, and sure enough, it was not like words—not only was it scribbled, but there were even two places where it had been scribbled into a black block of ink by the imperial pen. I'm usually afraid that this thing can't even be considered a draft, but now it's actually used the treasure so grandly and sent it to him.

What a hurry this has to be!

Musari gasped, rolled his eyes, and hesitated: "But Bahrain Anlie, my position is critical, and the Angkor Ming army may have already sent troops halfway at this time, if I lead the army back to Phnom Penh at this time, I am afraid that ......"

Balin Anlie sighed and said helplessly: "Who said it wasn't? But this is also a helpless thing, no matter how important is the status of Kong Qingyang, can it still be more important than Phnom Penh? ”

Musali was just about to speak, but Balin Anlie waved his hand to stop him, and said: "What's more, in terms of the size of the threat of the enemy, the number of enemies in front of Kampong Ching Yang is not much, because according to our reconnaissance before, the Angkor Ming army only had more than 18,000 people, and even if you add the sailors, this number will definitely not exceed 30,000."

And the Ming army that captured Puriange, it was an army of 50,000! General Mu, you said, if you don't bring troops back to help, with less than 20,000 people in Phnom Penh, can you block the thunderous blow of the 50,000 Ming army? ”

Mu Sali said in his heart: If it is really 50,000 Ming troops, then of course the "thunder blow" can't be stopped-the 150,000 army of the Golden Mansion White Elephant King didn't stop the less than 30,000 Ming troops of the Southern Xinjiang Mulan, let alone us? But the question is, if it is really 50,000 Ming troops rushing towards Phnom Penh, how much difference can it make if I return to help or not?

He said with a sad face: "At present, although the troops in the northwest area are quite abundant, there are less than 40,000 troops in Kampong Qingyang City, except for the necessary troops left to defend the city, even if I am willing to immediately lead the troops to Qin Wang, this force is ...... I'm afraid it's far from enough to protect Your Majesty's integrity under the 50,000 Ming army. ”

"That can't be left unsaved." Balin Anlie shook his head and said: "The edict is a little bad, but the edict is the edict, and this King Qin can't help but go." It's just that...... I'm afraid we still need to discuss the number of troops. ”

Musari suddenly felt something in his heart, and asked quietly, "What does Your Excellency the Governor mean?" ”

"I thought General Mu was right before, Kong Qingyang's status is important, it is the gateway to Phnom Penh, even if there are police in the southeast of Phnom Penh now, but I can't give up Kong Qingyang. After all, as long as Kampong Ching Yang is there, at least the Ming army in the northwest cannot go to Phnom Penh to join the Ming army in the southeast and besiege Phnom Penh. Therefore, I thought that Kampong Qingyang's side still needed to have heavy troops to suppress the formation. ”

Musari narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled: "So, how many troops do I lead back to Phnom Penh?" ”

Bahrain Anlie said: "I see, only five...... Uh, ten thousand. After he finished speaking, he hurriedly explained: "General Mu is the pillar of our army, as long as you lead the troops back to Phnom Penh, the morale of the Phnom Penh defenders will be greatly boosted, and one will be ten, and the Ming army will be under the country!" At that time, the general will defeat a strong enemy with a small force, and he will naturally be the leading minister and good general of our dynasty, and it will be a good ......."

Musali smiled: "Then, His Excellency the Governor will use this army of thirty or forty thousand in the northwest as a basis to sacrifice the pound to the Ming Dynasty, Bo a high-ranking official, and even hereditary replacement, right?" ”

Balin Anlie looked shocked, and even subconsciously took two steps back, and pointed at Musali angrily: "General Mu, what nonsense are you talking about?" Am I, Balin, the unrighteous kind of person? ”

Musali half-narrowed his eyes, looked Bahrain Anlie up and down, and Shi Shiran said, "Is this...... I thought it wasn't, but now it doesn't seem to be. ”

Balin Anlie's eyes rolled, and his face became even more angry: "Musali, I think you want to take the opportunity to kill me, and then do the crime you want to inflict on me, right?" You must not forget, although you are the general of the northwest, the defenders in this inner city are all my personal soldiers, and your personal soldiers are limited to 500 people in this general's mansion. Musali, if I have three long and two short, in less than an hour, your general's mansion will be the end of the chicken and dog! ”

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Thank you for the support of the book friend "Cao Mianzi", thank you!

PS: This chapter is a normal update. Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow there will be double watches, and one more chapter is a thank you to the alliance leader for "riding alone and shining on the blue heart".