In the charred ruins of the Taipingchang, many people came out of their makeshift straw huts and watched a herd of donkey carts and wheelbarrows coming from the main road. There was also a flag in front of the convoy that read: Chengdu Treasury.

People were in a commotion, standing on the side of the road and talking.

"It's very easy to hand over the grain, but what is it like when you receive the grain! It is said that it is an eight-month ration, but a person only has one stone of rice, and can he eat eight months? Before I gave the house money, a house is only five dollars! A woman complained.

The old man next to him with his hands on his sleeves smiled and said: "The Li family, it's good that the army didn't rob you when they entered Sichuan, and they can give you money and food, but don't be too little." Don't you know, if you go back to 30 years, the Chengdu government will be in chaos and take money and grain from the government? Think about it at ease! ”

Another woman said: "Who doesn't know that your Li family has a lot of land, and the large paddy field in the west can't be eaten to collect rent, and you still rely on that little ration?" King Han means it, don't take it too seriously. ”

"Don't forget to exempt from tax and forced labor for three years, that's the big one!" A middle-aged man said, "The King of Han occupies Chengdu, it's not as bad as rumored." In the next few years, you don't have to pay grain, I received rice today, and I went to eat a meal of Baijia fat sausage at noon. ”

The old man said: "The world is the Zhu family, and the King of Han is also surnamed Zhu, so I don't think it's much to ask for." ”

…… The palace of the Han Dynasty is located in the mansion of Li Rang, the commander of the guard in Chengdu. This incident made many local civil and military officials very envious.

Li Rang did nothing, neither participated in the Battle of Taipingchang, nor was he able to defend the city. He was invited by the Jinyi guard to go to the yamen of the political envoy, and went home alive and was guarded in the mansion for ten days; Then when the Han army entered the city, Li Rang turned into a hot celebrity in Chengdu officialdom.

Li Rang's mansion has a large number of family members and private slaves, and the king of Han can live there with peace of mind, which can be regarded as very trusting. What's more, Li Rang can see the King of Han in his own home, and he is a person who can talk to the new superiors; For a while, he was a member of the three divisions, and he was polite to Li Rang.

However, when Zhu Gaoxu was discussing in the hall, Li Rang wanted to meet the King of Han but was also stopped by the guards and asked him to wait fifty steps away.

Li Rang's family lived in the back house, and Zhu Gaoxu and others lived in the first courtyard, and he and his generals did not go in. The central hall has become Zhu Gaoxu's Chinese army tent, with many maps hanging inside and various dossiers piled up.

The people in the middle hall are still the same as the original, and in addition to Mu Sheng, they finally arrived in Chengdu. There are Qu Neng, Mu Sheng, Liu Ying, Wei Da, Hou Hai and others in the room; Recently, he joined the civil and military forces under the command of King Han, and he could not participate in the military aircraft discussion.

Zhu Gaoxu pointed to the rough and wide map behind the bookcase, and said in an unquestioning tone: "Although Guizhou is barren, its strategic location in the southwest is very important. If Guizhou cannot be captured, the two provinces of Yunchuan will be threatened on the flank, and it will not be much use to hold Yunnan. Even if Sheng Yong is outnumbered and unable to hold Yunnan, there is still a way to retreat and take the zero pass road to Sichuan; It's also worth exchanging Yunnan for Guizhou! ”

Qu Neng said: "The last general seconded the proposal. Several people present chimed in.

Zhu Gaoxu exhaled after hearing this, and said: "Now our troops in Sichuan have reached 200,000 foot cavalry, which is more than that. There were probably more than 30,000 guards and the guards of the Shu Palace, who fled to various places after the war; As long as the military salary is used as the condition to seal the fields, and then the military law is used to deter it, the army can be increased by 20,000 or 30,000 in time!

But now the situation is still uncertain, and we can't stop. After a short rest, I must lead the army to Guizhou as soon as possible. ”

Zhu Gaoxu paused for a moment and saw that no one was silent, so he slapped his thigh and said simply: "With Xiping Marquis sitting in Chengdu and Wei Dudu as the deputy, send troops to Guangyuan Mansion to guard Jiannan Pass; It would be great if we could try to coerce and lure the Hanzhong region to Sichuan. Then control the military and political affairs west of Longquan Mountain.

Governor Qu was the vanguard, first took Chongqing Prefecture, and then returned to Shida County (Dazhou) to set up a camp in the east, and transferred troops to capture Kuizhou Mansion (Fengjie), Wushan County, and Guizhou (Badong), and operated the defense along the river.

This king rashly marched south to Guizhou, with Liu Dudu (Liu Ying) as his deputy. ”

The generals stood up and clenched their fists and said, "The last general will wait for the order!" ”

Qu Neng stood in place and said, "It is said that Xue Lu fled to Chongqing Mansion. At this time, most of the political envoys in Sichuan had surrendered, and Chongqing Mansion only had one guard and horse. In such a situation, ordinary people can't hold Chongqing Mansion, and Xue Lu should escape. After the prince's army arrives in Chongqing, you can take the main road from Chongqing to Guizhou.

This post road was opened in the Yuan Dynasty and can be repaired several times for 10,000 people. By the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court operated Guizhou, constantly widening roads, adding a large number of post stations, and now there is no difficulty in mobilizing the army. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "Very good, it's time to compete with Gu Cheng!" ”

Qu Neng said: "However, the lake and wide road in the east of Guizhou is also more convenient. Beware of the imperial court reinforcements from Huguang Changde Mansion. ”

Zhu Gaoxu groaned, and said after a while: "If there is no better strategy, we can only do what we say." ”

The generals then bowed and retired, and Du Musheng stayed.

Mu Sheng's expression was a little embarrassed, and he hugged his fists and said: "The last general will march east from Yazhou, and I wanted to join the prince's army as soon as possible." However, in mid-November, it rained for many days along the road, and the road was muddy, so the march of the general was slow. There will be no delay in the end! ”

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Mu Sheng and saw that his eyes were still very sincere...... It's just that if it is replaced by Zhu Gaoxu or Mu Sheng's father Mu Ying, when facing a key battle that is related to success or failure, not to mention the rain, even if the world is stabbed, he will definitely rush to the battlefield at any cost! Mu Sheng is an aristocratic faction, and he is still not ruthless enough to do things.

But Zhu Gaoxu didn't blame him, thought for a while and said: "In the Jianchang area on the Lingguan Road, Qu Du was in charge of defense back then, and the strength of the official military guard and the Tusi was very strong. Xiping Hou was able to open the zero pass road with a meager army, which is related to the overall situation, and it has made great contributions! ”

Mu Sheng gradually became a little happier, and said busily: "The last general will not dare to take credit." ”

Zhu Gaoxu's words changed, and he said quietly: "This king will not suspect that Xiping Hou has the slightest intention of delaying. The Marquis of Xiping risked the life and death of the people and followed the command of this king. The stakes are so high that there is no reason to be unfaithful? ”

These words sounded good, but Mu Sheng's expression became slightly solemn. He doesn't seem to be very clever in using soldiers, but he is very good at understanding words...... Zhu Gaoxu's words, of course, contained some reminders and blames, but he didn't say it explicitly.

Mu Sheng said: "The last general thanks the prince for his trust." Please retire. ”

Zhu Gaoxu also returned the salute with his fists.

After Mu Sheng left the middle hall, Li Rang, who had been waiting for a long time, was finally let in. Li rang saluted and greeted him. Zhu Gaoxu picked up the official documents on the table, and said very casually: "General Li doesn't have to be rigid, please sit down." ”

Li Rang thanked him. Zhu Gaoxu was busy with his own business, pretending to be disapproving, and at the same time, he was still paying attention to Li Rang's demeanor in the afterglow. Li Rang's brows furrowed, as if he was thinking about something.

After a while, Li Rang finally spoke: "The prince once sent someone to take a handwritten letter and contact the last general, and he attached great importance to it, and the last general was really flattered. It's a pity that the last general couldn't help the prince at all, just because there are many eyes and ears of the court in the army and the mansion, and the last general can't ......"

Just like Mu Sheng, it is too easy for people to find a reason for something.

Li Rang continued: "Now that the prince trusts him so much, the last general will be uneasy and deserved. ”

Nearly 40 years after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the world is becoming more and more peaceful, and these people who can be commanders and even enter the capital of a province are really not naïve people...... Listening to Li Rang's words, it was obvious that he had quickly realized that there must be a reason why Zhu Gaoxu treated him like this.

But if a person has use value, it is a good thing in itself, right?

Zhu Gaoxu let Mu Sheng sit in Chengdu, just because Mu Sheng's status and prestige were high enough, but Zhu Gaoxu was very suspicious of Mu Sheng's combat ability; Although Wei Da and Wang Bin's generation who stayed in Yunnan are descendants and are loyal, their backgrounds are too low and they lack the heat to control the overall situation.

On the contrary, this Li Rang once served as an official of the Sichuan Metropolitan Division and participated in the management of military affairs in the province; Because of the relationship between Jianwen's former ministers, he was demoted to the commander of Wei, and he was very experienced.

When Zhu Gaoxu was in Annam, he found that this person led the troops to fight calmly and skillfully, and although he did not have amazing combat exploits, he made few mistakes and was very reliable. Moreover, Li Rang once followed Qu Neng in the Hongwu Dynasty to quell the rebellion repeatedly, and was a member of Qu Neng's right-hand man.

Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu wanted to use Li Rang to ensure the safety of the Chengdu area; In addition, Li Rang has been an official in Sichuan all the year round, and he also has contacts everywhere, so he is the best candidate.

The generals who have just surrendered, the key issue is loyalty!

Character, sincerity or insincerity, are all things that cannot be seen or touched...... But Li Rang was originally suspected by the imperial court and fornicated with the King of Han, and now he has been particularly favored and trusted by the King of Han.

The better Zhu Gaoxu treats him, the more he has no choice!

"General Li, this king has just raised his army, and before the Battle of Taipingchang, there was no progress, and the strength was small. Most people did not hesitate to follow the edict of the puppet emperor, and looked at the world full of enemies. Zhu Gaoxu said kindly, "But General Li let go of the secret envoy and left a face, that is, he can afford to look down on this king!" If others look up to me, I will respect me even more! ”

Li Rang hurriedly said: "The last general is embarrassed. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "The Marquis of Xiping is the commander of the left capital of Sichuan, Wei Da is the envoy of the right capital, and General Li is the chief military officer!" ”

Li Rang immediately knelt down on one knee and said: "The last general will not dare to live up to the heavy responsibility of the King of Han, and he will not give up." ”

Zhu Gaoxu immediately slapped his arm hard, lifted it up, and said excitedly: "Good brother! Let's work together for a great cause and enjoy prosperity together in the future. ”

…… Guizhou is located in a remote area, and needs to be supplied with grain and salt from other places all year round, which is neither the famous Changping battlefield nor the Central Plains that is competing for the world. But at this time, it is an important battlefield related to the ups and downs of the Ming Empire.