Several generals in the study smiled very happily, and Zhu Gaoxu also showed a smile that should be appropriate to the situation.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu understood a truth even more: even brothers who share life and death, as long as their positions are different, their moods will be completely different...... Of course, the generals can laugh, because as long as there is a battle, there will be military merits! But Zhu Gaoxu had to consider another thing, money and food.

When it comes to money, everyone doesn't kiss it.

On the side of the Yunnan government, a few days ago, when they mentioned the use of troops against Meng Yangsi, they all commanded Cao Long to be obedient and very silent, and his attitude can be seen.

The year before last, Zhu Gaoxu came to Yunnan Province with tens of thousands of people, and the prince's expenses were of course borne by the imperial treasury. But the imperial court's approach was to shift the burden to the three divisions of Yunnan......

The Ming Dynasty levies a large number of physical goods, and most of them are stored in the local treasury due to the limitation of transportation costs; The more the court spent on the local area, the more the officials had to find ways to enrich the treasury. The men and horses brought by Zhu Gaoxu consumed the money and grain of these government treasury, and the guards wanted to settle the fields, and they occupied a large number of official fields in the prefectures and counties, which compressed the income of the government.

In any case, the Yunnan government could not refuse such an expense; However, now that we have to use troops for an expedition, the cost of transporting military grain and grass is extremely high, and the government may have to pay for it, so the three divisions and the yamen of the prefecture and county will naturally be reluctant.

Zhu Gaoxu has been thinking a lot about it for a while, and there are two choices in front of him: first, play the imperial court first, wait for the imperial court to decide on this matter, and even the military department will appoint a chief military officer to be in charge of this battle; The advantage of this is that the contradiction can be transferred to the central court of the Ming Dynasty. Second, as long as the time is short, the money and food spent can be controlled within the tolerance of all parties.

Therefore, there are many benefits to immediately retaliating against Meng Yangsi. The only downside is that the risk is a bit big, because Zhu Gaoxu not only has to win, but also has to be fast!

But if you choose to wait for the central court to make a decision, there will be no fewer problems...... He is very self-aware, there are too many people in Jingshi who don't like him, and someone will definitely jump out to impeach him, accusing him of causing trouble and provoking war.

"Zhao Baihu, how many people are here from the Si family?" Zhu Gaoxu asked.

Zhao Ping suppressed his smile and thought for a while, then hugged his fists and said, "There are at least three thousand, maybe five thousand, and twenty or thirty war elephants." There are many mountains and dense forests, and it is difficult to estimate. ”

Zhu Gaoxu asked again: "How long have you resisted in the village?" ”

Zhao Ping's expression was a little ugly, and he said: "Back to the prince, the last general will be breached on the same day." At that time, I was unlucky, I had just repelled several sieges by the natives, and suddenly it rained so heavily that all the firearms could not be used......"

Zhu Gaoxu listened carefully and nodded frequently.

So Zhao Ping continued to narrate: "The village only has an earthen wall and a ditch, and the wall is too low to be easily climbed by the natives. When the rain had ceased with firearms, the native sat on the war elephant, higher than our brethren on the wall, and threw javelins at the defenders.

Although the brothers fought to the death, they had no choice but to run out of manpower. The walled gate was also too thin, and the south gate was opened by war elephants. ”

"Hmm......" Zhu Gaoxu made a voice.

Zhao Ping said: "The last general had to gather soldiers and horses to line up at the camp gate, and the war elephants with sharp weapons and leather armor rushed out of the battle formation, and they were outnumbered and defeated. The last general's sentence is true, and the prince can ask people to ask the other soldiers who are surviving. However, if it doesn't rain that day, the last few days may be able to hold out for a few more days! ”

Zhu Gaoxu had experienced the "Battle of Jingyan" and had seen all kinds of firearms, and he knew very well what the firearms of the Ming army were, and he knew that the range of the Ming army at this time, whether it was artillery or firearms, was very limited. The guns in his impression are not the same thing at all!

He waited for Zhao Ping to finish speaking, thought for a while, and then asked, "Elephants are afraid of firearms?" ”

Zhao Ping hurriedly said: "The prince knows everything! At that time, we didn't have Hongwu cannons, and the war elephants were most afraid of bowl-mouth guns, with loud voices and terrifying fires; Bronze firecrackers can also help. As soon as we set off the firearms, the elephant turned around in fright and charged back at the enemy's own men. Later, it rained, and loud gongs could also deter elephants. The cowardice of the animal is less than that of a warhorse. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded again thoughtfully. He said in his heart: the cavalry of the ancient army was popular, not elephants, and reality has confirmed that elephant soldiers must have great weaknesses.

He asked in detail about the characteristics of the elephant soldiers, and then asked Zhao Ping about the tactics and characteristics of the Tusi army. Zhao Ping said a lot of things about the native army, what military discipline is very poor, fierce and not afraid of death, each tribe fights separately, familiar with the terrain and climate, and so on.

After Zhu Gaoxu asked, let Zhao Ping go back and rest; Then he summoned Diao Ya, a native of Tengchong Qianhu.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu had already made a quick decision to Meng Yangsi, and made up his mind to do so! But he was still trying his best to understand the situation and continue to think about the stakes.

…… In the garden behind the pear orchard, in a hall, it was unexpectedly a little noisy. There were quite a few people sitting on the chairs on both sides, all talking.

Most of them were relatives of the Shen Xu clan. Mrs. Shen's husband's family is the descendant of Shen Wansan, and her maiden family is the descendant of Xu Fujiu; So some of these people have the surname Shen and some have the surname Xu.

In addition, there are also accomplices with foreign surnames who have invested in the Shen family's business gang.

"We in Yunnan have to rely on each other. can fight thousands of troops, it is a bottomless pit! Everyone's family background can withstand a few days of tossing? The person who spoke was a man over half a hundred years old, and he was the uncle of Mrs. Shen's stepdaughter, Shen Manshu.

When the Shen family's aunt said something, everyone nodded in agreement, feeling that it made sense.

Mrs. Shen had no choice but to persuade her: "Brothers, don't be impatient, the King of Han didn't ask us to give us money and food. A few days ago, Xu Cailiu was in the Han Palace, please ask Xu Cailiu. ”

After all, Mrs. Shen's husband has passed away, and she has never given birth to a boy and a half girl for the Shen family, and almost all the people who questioned at this time are from the Shen family, but the people of the Xu family endured it without saying a word.

Another middle-aged man who spoke was also surnamed Shen, but the relationship was a bit distant. His tone was relatively softened, and he said earnestly: "The methods of the emperor's family, we have not seen it. If they didn't want to take money out of our pockets, they would take care of people? What's more, if you pay for it, you can't get a little good! Back then, the Shen family paid for the repair of the city and the army, what good did they get? ”

Several people chimed in, "Yes, it's ......" and "The teacher who doesn't forget the past and the future......"

The man looked back to the left and right, sighed again, looked at Mrs. Shen on the side chair and said, "Madame is still a little too hasty in dealing with the King of Han. ”

He lowered his voice and said in a deep voice, "I think that's it...... Maybe the beginning is the game of doing! The king of Han was so happy that he decided early in the morning to open up the territory. So he first used the guise of jade and jade to lure us on the boat; Then they have the final say, and they insist that we have a share. In the end, the knife is on the neck, and the military money and food, do you give it or not? ”

Immediately, someone whispered: "The people of the Zhu family are the most untrustworthy!" ”

At this moment, a middle-aged woman in a gray and white dress walked in, walked up to Mrs. Shen lightly, bowed her head and whispered two words in Mrs. Shen's ear.

Mrs. Shen's expression changed slightly. The surrounding discussion suddenly became quieter, and everyone looked sideways with a little curiosity, guessing what the slave had whispered just now.

"Brothers, it's still too early to tell, let's wait a few days." Mrs. Shen said, "The concubine is a little urgent, please leave first." She turned her head and said, "Tell your subordinates to entertain the relatives and friends of the two families." ”

"Yes." The woman replied.

Mrs. Shen had already stood up, and the guests had to stand up and return the salute and say goodbye to Mrs. Shen.

She walked through the cloister on the eaves, retreated to the left and right, and waited for a while for the middle-aged woman to come. The two walked together to a corridor like a bridge, and Mrs. Shen asked softly, "King Han is in the theater?" ”

The woman said, "Yes, the people over there still invited him upstairs and sat in the old private room." ”

The two of them walked for a while, and the woman finally couldn't help but ask, "Slave and maid, do you think the king of Han is reliable?" ”

Mrs. Shen hesitated slightly, and said: "After all, Taizu is the emperor who fights the country, and the King of Han is not so ruthless since he was a child...... But people's hearts are separated from their stomachs, who can say for sure? ”

When I came to the theater, it was just after noon; The first play was sung on the stage, and there were not many guest officers in the hall. The theater generally does not sing in the morning.

Mrs. Shen walked into the door of the private room and saw King Han sitting there alone, looking at the play on the stage. The guards around him were in the corridor today, and they didn't enter the private room.

Before Mrs. Shen could speak, Zhu Gaoxu turned her head. Mrs. Shen bent her knees and held her hand in front of her stomach and said, "The concubine has seen His Royal Highness." ”

"Excuse me, ma'am, please sit here." Zhu Gaoxu beckoned, "This female actor who sings the opera doesn't seem to be Li Louxian?" ”

Mrs. Shen said: "Back to Your Highness, this is not the time when there are many people, Li Louxian's play today should be in Youshi." ”

"Hmm......" Zhu Gaoxu nodded. He often has this movement and tone.

Zhu Gaoxu then asked: "Li Louxian's body is well?" ”

Mrs. Shen had no choice but to follow his words and replied, "His Royal Highness Lao is worried, she has long been cured. A few years ago, fortunately she only ate arsenic cream once or twice, so she got better quickly; The concubine heard Lang Zhong say that she is most afraid of treating the kind of people who often take arsenic ...... cream."

Speaking of this, she couldn't help but ask cautiously: "Is the prince here today to watch Li Louxian's play?" ”

After asking, Mrs. Shen waited anxiously for Zhu Gaoxu's answer, and nervously saw that he was shaking his head. He replied, "I'm not here to see the play, but to see her." Didn't you say okay last time, when she has a good body, let's see each other again? What I say, I usually do. ”

Madam Shen looked at him with a complicated expression.

Zhu Gaoxu paused and said: "After a while, I will lead the troops to Mengyang Division, and if I don't take time to see her in the next few days, this matter will be delayed again." ”

Mrs. Shen hurriedly said, "The concubine will go and call her over now." ”