The Yan army spent two days and made a big circle from the Baigou River to Wuji County, which is located in the rear of Zhending Mansion, and the county officials were blocked by 3,000 cavalry, and surrendered the city, only a few dozen miles away from Zhending, and did not encounter any resistance along the way.

Even if the people nearby heard that the two armies were facing each other, they were reluctant to give up their homes and crops in the fields, and occasionally there were homeless people who abandoned their homes and fled, and they also went to the north, which made Zhu Di very happy, and ordered the officials to post notices everywhere to calm people's hearts and send them to Lu Zhi, and went to their own government in the north to settle properly.

In the past few days, the most relaxed is Xu Hao's Shenji Battalion, with enough horses so that everyone does not need to walk on two legs, encountering rugged and difficult roads, more than 200 pounds of artillery does not seem bulky, and Xu Hao has foreseen that the design is detachable, and he has requisitioned a thousand soldiers from Beiping Mansion.

Even so, Xu Hao also felt that transportation was not easy, and discussed springs and four-wheeled carriages with craftsmen every day, and proposed to use natural asphalt or cement to pave roads, cement can also be used to build city houses, and instructed stonemasons who are good at building bridges and craftsmen who are good at building to form a special research group, send people to the north to find mineral deposits, and give heavy rewards to those who have merit.

For experienced craftsmen, the young Xu Dudu is like a god-like cun, even if he does not have the master's skill, but his insight is undoubtedly too incredible.

More than 1,000 craftsmen with the army have been managed by Xu Hao since the beginning of the war, Xu Hao gave them a special status higher than ordinary soldiers, known as the craftsman battalion self-contained system, no longer need to be despised by others, the two older craftsmen with the highest prestige were promoted to thousands of households, and those with excellent craftsmanship were all lieutenants and lieutenants in the army.

In the evening, Zhu Di came out for a walk after dinner, and felt the high morale of the craftsmen, and said with a smile: "The king admires you the most is Corporal Lixian, Gao Chi can do this, but Gao Xi lacks a lot." ”

Xu Hao said: "My nephew is not Corporal Lixian. It's about respecting them, craftsmen have crafts, and soldiers are desperate to kill the enemy, how can they not be respected? I respect all the people who work hard to support their families, young and old, with their hands. ”

"yes!" Zhu Di said with some emotion: "Every grain of grain is not easy to come by, how can soldiers be born and die with this king, how can they not be respected?" By the way, the palace often suffers from thunder and fire, is it really God's fault? ”

Xu Hao didn't expect King Yan to care about this matter, and then thought about it When Zhu Yunwen had just ascended the throne, a large hall was struck by lightning and almost caused a fire. At that time, the monk Daoyan chattered about the gods and gods that the new emperor was not right, and it was a sign that King Yan was the true son of heaven, and Zhu Di believed in these feudal superstitions.

I have the heart to say that this is all a natural phenomenon, I am afraid that Zhu Di will be annoyed, and without the ethereal monarchy, the emperor will lose the greatest sense of mystery.

Xu Hao said euphemistically: "The four seasons alternate, thunder and lightning are everywhere, and my uncle doesn't have to take this too seriously." Probably because the palace is too high, it is also the most fire-prone wooden structure. The probability of lightning strikes is much greater than that of ordinary people. Of course, if the king has no way, God will not be able to warn him. ”

Zhu Di asked: "In addition to respecting heaven and earth, reflecting on oneself and being diligent in government affairs, what other good strategies can avoid lightning strikes?" ”

Xu Hao said: "You can build a tower nearby and install a lightning rod. However, this will affect the overall feng shui and pattern of the palace, and someone will have to be in charge of this matter in the future. In addition, the nephew may as well use a brick structure to build yì, which is durable, and even if it causes a small fire, it will not easily burn down an entire palace. ”

Zhu Di pondered silently, shook his head for a long time and said: "The style and pattern of the palace have been inherited since ancient times. It's not easy to change it at will, but you can try it elsewhere. ”

Xu Hao didn't care about this, to be honest, if he was ordered to repair the palace in the future. It's better to find a rope and hang yourself.

Qiu Fu, who was dressed in armor, strode over with a large man and said, "Your Highness Qiqi, you have caught six thieves who are collecting firewood." ”

Zhu Di looked at the nervous officers and soldiers, and said softly: "Don't be afraid, this king guarantees that you and others have no worries about their lives, how about the defense in the city?" ”

A sergeant boldly said: "The commander ordered the defense of the northwest direction, and I waited for the southeast gate to enter and exit, and the guards were not tight, so I didn't know anything else." ”

"Take them down to eat." Zhu Di said with a smile, they are all the lowest-ranking people in the army, and there is no need to interrogate them carefully.

Half an hour later, Zhu Di summoned all the generals to come, Zhu Di deliberately tried the courage of the generals, and said: "It's only half a day's journey from the enemy, what advice do you have?" ”

With the encouragement of King Yan, there were different opinions at the moment, and some generals advocated not to go directly to Zhending, but to move to Xinle Mansion in the north, leading out the imperial army to wait for work; Some people advocate relying on the field that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and fight to the death with the officers and soldiers; There are also people who have adopted the strategy of fortifying the walls and clearing the wilderness, dragging down the 300,000 army.

Zhang Yu didn't think much of this, and said: "When you reach Zhending tonight, although the enemy army seems to be outnumbered, but the division of troops is uneven, and it can be broken with one drum." ”

Xu Hao has been standing quietly in the first place on the left, and he can see that Zhu Di's idea of eagerly seizing the throne is to rely on the Yan army to fight well in order to quickly defeat the imperial court, and the southbound Beijing division is like a bamboo, lest it delay for a long time and fall into a bitter battle, then the imperial court has the interests and righteousness of the Quartet, and the Yan army in the final corner will face a crisis of embattlement.

Although Xu Hao has always been cautious, but the imperial army has been pressed, and if you don't fight, you have to fight, since King Yan is confident, he said: "I agree with General Zhang's words. ”

Zhu Di was overjoyed in his heart, even if he was the commander-in-chief, he would not do a good job and insist on doing his own thing, and now there are two generals with the highest status in the army who have the same thoughts as himself, which can be said to be the same as the hero.

Zhu Di said happily: "Xinle is in a corner, if our army bypasses the enemy army and stationed, it will definitely make the whole army discouraged. Straight to Zhending, the thieves and the new army are loose, the people's hearts are different, and the attack will win. ”

After some discussion at the moment, the Yan army continued to set off despite the fatigue, and after a rapid march in the middle of the night, it was only twenty miles away from Zhending City.

Zhu Di ordered to rest on the spot for a while, and just as Xu Hao was biting the dry food, Zhu Di personally led thirty cavalry to fly away.

Xu Hao was shocked and turned on his horse without thinking, and followed with one hundred and thirty personal guards, Yao Guangxiao saw this and ordered: "The whole army is leaving." ”

Although he knew that Zhu Di's force value was not low, and he always took the lead in battles, he didn't expect to be so brave and brave, even if the imperial court strictly ordered that he was not allowed to hurt his life, he didn't have to think that he was unscrupulous and unscrupulous, right? The rebels did not wear conspicuous gold armor.

Seeing Zhu Di riding his horse straight to the East City Gate, Xu Hao helplessly held the reins. He shouted, "Don't chase after you, just load here with gunpowder arrows." ”

Before dawn, I watched Zhu Di lead people to rush to the grain convoy under the city gate, as if entering a no-man's land, making the officials and soldiers jump and jump, and they easily swept away the two people, and when they rushed back like the wind, the other party had not yet reacted.

Xu Hao immediately decided: "Go and ask for information." ”

More than a dozen old brothers from Jinyiwei immediately turned over and dismounted, and with two plops, King Yan's personal guards threw the prisoner down. Directly outside the city, in front of the officers and soldiers guarding the city, he was tortured on the spot to extract confessions.

As four or five bamboo sticks pierced into the fingernails, the ten-fingered officers and soldiers shouted: "The little ones surrender, surrender." ”

Zhu Di smiled: "Where is Geng Bingwen?" ”

Among the people who were arrested, a young lieutenant was in a cold sweat, and he hurriedly pointed to the northwest and said loudly: "The marshal ordered the camp on the south bank to move to the north bank yesterday, and the camp from the west gate to the west mountain. ”

Sure enough, the defenders on the south bank were transferred to the north bank, which reduced the defenders under Zhending City by 100,000 in one fell swoop. ”

Everyone present was immediately infected by King Yan's self-confidence. They all echoed loudly, Xu Hao was a little dumbfounded, and said reluctantly: "My nephew is willing to go." ”

Zhu Di laughed and said: "Only 100 people are needed, and you take someone to take care of it." ”

Xu Hao was aroused. He said: "I will definitely accompany you on a trip this time, and I will not be subject to military orders abroad." ”

Zhu Di smiled and said: "This king is here, and you kid dare not obey military orders?" Well, I'll take you there. ”

At that moment, Zhu Di drove the war horse under his crotch around the city wall to the west gate to kill. Xu Hao said quickly: "Go back and report to a few people, and the rest will come with me." ”

After finishing speaking, he kicked the horse's belly hard, and rode the horse to chase the majestic Yan King. Listening to the sound of hooves, there were his own people in front of him and behind him, and Xu Hao couldn't help but boil for a while.

Feeling the strong wind blowing on his face, looking at the continuous military camp with lanterns hanging everywhere closer and closer, Xu Hao couldn't care about anything, lowered his body and grabbed the reins with his left hand, and his right hand gradually touched the handle of the knife.

Zhu Di, who was in the lead, was suddenly ecstatic, turned around and shouted: "Xu Hao, you go and cut the rope of the suspension bridge." ”

"Yes!" Xu Hao didn't have time to think, and used the power of the reins to force the war horse to change direction, and Mu Yi, who followed closely, shouted: "The first five teams follow the governor, and the rest of them protect the prince." ”

The team quickly split into two teams and rushed in different directions. Xu Hao pulled out the treasure knife with a somewhat awkward movement, and almost fell headlong during the gallop, but fortunately found a balance in time.

Xu Hao was startled, looking at the city wall of Hessesen and the dozen or so officers and soldiers in front of the camp gate, regretting that he should not have come recklessly, after all, he was not a battle-hardened warrior, and he was likely to become a burden.

Thinking of this, Xu Hao clamped his legs on the horse's belly, he didn't have the skills to leap over the horse, and shouted: "Li Qiu, you get off the horse with me and move away the obstacles, others will kill the enemy with bows and arrows, Mu Yi, you will take the opportunity to cut the rope." ”

The speed of the war horse slowed down in an instant, and it still ran forward a full five feet away according to inertia, and stopped right in front of the camp. Xu Hao jumped off the horse with a sharp movement, raised his knife and slashed at the rope on the horse.

"Childe be careful." Li Qiu, who was following behind, also jumped off his horse, with a log shield on his arm, and shot forward with a crossbow arrow, instantly killing an officer and soldier.

Xu Hao didn't even look at the enemy he had killed, he desperately cut off the ropes that were connected together, shouted hard with both arms, and moved the hundred-pound rejection horse to the side, and was suddenly pierced into the abdomen by a spear.

Li Qiu and the guards were all bluffed, and they rushed forward to protect the injured Xu Hao in the center, because the gap was opened, the guards who did not dismount howled and rushed inside, instantly cutting down the four or five officers and soldiers in the front.

In the face of the fierce and vicious cavalry, the remaining officers and soldiers guarding the gate panicked and hurriedly ran to the camp, but were killed by the cavalry before closing the gate.

Xu Hao gritted his teeth and covered the ribs where the blood flowed out, forcibly pointed to a torch on the ground, and shouted: "Burn the camp" (to be continued......