Zhang Fu was a little disappointed when he heard that it was unlikely that they were faking the surrender. Just now he thought that they might be faking the surrender, and he was still thinking of using the trick.
However, he came back to his senses immediately and continued to discuss with Mu Sheng how to conquer Duobang City. But they had no good solution, and they talked for a long time with no results.
Zhang Fu then changed the subject and said: "Master Mu, the general just remembered something. Several bold businessmen followed the vanguard army led by the general and came here. If there are any of the soldiers under the command of Master Mu who are not too big,
Items can be sold to them.”
Hearing Zhang Fu change the topic, Mu Sheng also said: "I thought that few merchants would respond to the merchants accompanying the army established by Li Jian. Even if they responded, they would be in places that have already settled down, such as Polei Pass and Fuling Pass.
Are there really merchants in places who dare to march with the army? Are they not afraid of being taken out as Annan spies? Besides, who will pay attention to protect them when they are marching and fighting? I am afraid their lives are not in danger."
Although Mu Sheng's fighting skills are average (of course he hasn't realized it yet), he is still very good to his soldiers. He does not allow any generals to deduct military pay, and at the same time, he turns a blind eye to the generals' private business.
He is deeply loved by the soldiers; he also supports the military merchant system that can benefit the soldiers.
However, he was dubious about whether this system would work, so he asked.
"Wealth comes from risks, and there are always bold people who want to make money. It will be much safer when the place is stable, but there are more people coming to make money, so money is not so easy to earn." Zhang Fu said: "What's more, it's safer.
..." He said this and suddenly stopped talking.
Mu Sheng was confused, but he did not ask immediately. Instead, he said a few words to everyone. Seeing that it was already getting late, Zhu Cheng asked them to go back to rest, leaving Zhang Fu behind and asked: "What did you say just now?"
'Besides', why didn't you stop talking?"
"This," Zhang Fu actually made a mistake just now, but at this time Mu Sheng asked and Zhu Zhen was watching, so he had to answer and could only say: "The three businessmen who followed the last general each have their own ceremonial guards.
Ordinary businessman."
"One of them is related to the servants employed in Lan Shuai's mansion, and the other is said to be the same clan as Cao Guogong; the last one is the most closely related, and is said to be the family of a female official in the palace. Although they are just businessmen, during the war,
It’s just that they have no eyes, but it would be troublesome if they died without any reason, and I would have to find someone to protect them.”
"Can it still be like this?" Mu Sheng, who had never thought of such a high-level combination of government and business, was very surprised.
"This is obviously unfair to ordinary businessmen and not good for the country." Zhu Zhen said. As a prince and having a fiefdom, he will naturally consider issues from the perspective of the country.
Zhang Fu sighed and said: "His Royal Highness King Min, Lord Mu, although these businessmen have a relationship with Lan Shuai and Cao Guogong, their relationship is already twisted. What will your Majesty do even if he knows about it? What's more, this is not the case.
Lan Shuai or Cao Guogong instigated it, but they did the business themselves and took the initiative to build relationships for the sake of safety. It’s no wonder Lan Shuai or Cao Guogong did it.”
Zhu Zhen and Mu Sheng thought about the same reason: they have been in the local area for a long time, and they know that except for small businessmen selling needles, threads and brains, ordinary businessmen do not bribe officials? Even when Emperor Taizu was still there, there was no bribery.
Corruption is so strict, it can't stop businessmen from bribing officials and collecting money, it just makes it more secretive.
Zhu Ming sighed and asked Zhang Fu to retreat.
Zhang Fu got up early the next morning and asked the soldiers to start building the rest of the camps after breakfast. He took the guards on the boat and came to the middle of the river. He first took a look at the Ming Dynasty Navy, which was fighting the Annan Navy, and then He raised his clairvoyance and looked at the multi-border city opposite.
The history of Duobang City is not long. It only appeared in the Chen Dynasty, but at that time it was just a small city used to collect taxes from passing business travelers.
After Hu Jiya came to power, he was always worried that the Ming Dynasty would uphold justice for the Chen Dynasty, especially since he deposed a monarch and established another, which caused Zhu Yuanzhang to refuse his tribute, so he expanded the Duobang City on a large scale, increasing the area of the city tenfold. , the city wall increased from just over one foot high to five or six feet high, and from a few feet thick to over two feet thick. A city wall that stretched out was also specially built on the north side of the river.
At the same time, the soldiers were also very heavily guarded. Zhang Fu looked over with his clairvoyance and saw that there were several people guarding each section of the city wall, and the guards were changed from time to time, which showed that there were enough soldiers in the city.
'If you lay wooden piles on the river to cross the river, you can't carry artillery, charge cars or even crossbows. When you line up on the beach, you can't deal with the Annamite artillery. Unless you are an elite like Habayashi Zuowei, it's impossible to line up on the beach. Come on.'
'Even if a few elite guard posts are formed in formation, they can still deal with the Annan people's muskets, but when everyone arrives near the city to attack the city, it will not be difficult to capture the multi-bang city without enough siege equipment.'
'It would be great if the Annamites didn't have guns and cannons. Although the wooden platoon can't carry much weight, it can be done by setting up a few ladders. If there were no cannons, they would cross the river in the middle of the night and line up on the beach, and the honor guards would attack several sides at the same time. The city wall will definitely allow the Annan people to attack the city in one fell swoop." Zhang Fu sighed.
He put down his clairvoyance and rubbed his eyes, and asked the boatman to row along the river. He saw ripples on the river near the south bank from time to time. Zhang Fu, who had learned a lot about boating, knew that it was because there were objects under the river blocking the water flow. , the blocked water flows to both sides, causing ripples.
At the same time, there are many green trees on the shore. Although there are paths opened by ordinary people from time to time, they obviously cannot allow the army to enter or exit.
"Old man, how many miles of wooden stakes did the rebels across the way have? How far do the woods along the coast extend?" Zhang Fu asked the boatman.
This boatman is in his forties and is from Annan. His family has made a living by ferrying people across the river here for generations. After the Ming Dynasty's army came over, the military discipline was still good, although there were a few who raped women and robbed people's property. Things happened, but their family was poor and his son’s wife was not good-looking. She had neither wealth nor sex that could be robbed, so she had no resentment towards the Ming army. The generals under Mu Sheng After rewarding him with ten taels of silver, he actively served the Ming army all day long.
At this moment, after the boatman listened to the translator, he chatted a lot, and the translator said to Zhang Fu: "Sir General, this man said that the wooden stakes set by the Annan people on the south bank are seventy or eighty miles long, from Baihe to the northwest, It can extend nearly forty miles in the northeast direction."
"The woods on the south bank are even longer. There are dense woods for three to four hundred miles along the river. Although there are some small ferries that can ferry people across the river, they are all small roads. It is impossible for so many of our army to cross the river through such small roads. .”
Zhang Fu frowned and said nothing after listening to the interpreter. According to the boatman, it was impossible to cross the river at other places. If he wanted to attack Jiangnan, he could only attack from the beach in front of Duobang City. But he could not bring siege equipment with him.
If we cross the river, it will be almost impossible to capture Duobang City, and tens of thousands of troops will be blocked on the beach.
Zhang Fu really wanted to find a way to attack Jiangnan so that the army could move south successfully. Although he didn't care about other people's eyes on him, His Majesty was kind to him. He couldn't let others question His Majesty's vision, so he wanted to pass it on
A good performance in this battle proved to everyone that he was worthy of the position of general and that the emperor's vision was right.
However, he asked the old boatman to maneuver the boat back and forth on the river for more than an hour, and for several miles of waterway, no good solution was found. He had to take another look at the Ming Dynasty Navy, which was fighting with the Annan Navy on the south bank, and returned to the camp.
Another day later, on the afternoon of November 13th, Lan Zhen led tens of thousands of troops to Baihe. It was daytime when Lan Zhen came here, and after all, they had different identities. The people guarding the camp opened the token after checking it.
The gate of the camp let him in.
Lan Zhen personally arranged for the soldiers to live in the camps respectively, and asked several generals to arrange for the soldiers to have meals while she went to look for Mu Sheng.
After the two people met and the ceremony was over, Lan Zhen asked impatiently: "Your Highness, Mu Sheng, Zhang Fu has already written to me about the general situation. I just want to ask, is this multi-border city serious?"
So hard to beat?"
"Lan Zhen, you will know if you see for yourself. The terrain here is already very dangerous. Moreover, the Annan people laid wooden piles on the south bank to block the ships and deployed cannons at the top of the city. It cannot be captured in a few days."
Mu Sheng said.
"Isn't it possible to fight at night? At night..." Lan Zhen asked.
"I did this a few nights ago. I sent out one guard, but less than 2,000 people came back." Mu Sheng said.
"Lan Zhen, this place is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack. I have repeatedly investigated it and it cannot be captured in a short time." Zhu Zhen also said. Zhang Fu's status is low and he has no right to speak at this time, but from now on
It can also be seen from his expression that he agrees with Mu Sheng and Zhu Zhen.
Seeing that Zhang Fu was like this, Lan Zhen could only sigh and stop asking. Zhang Fu was still more eager to fight than him. After getting to know him these days, he also felt that Zhang Fu definitely had the talent of a general. Even Zhang Fu agreed.
Mu Sheng's opinion shows that it is indeed difficult to conquer at the moment.
"How long will it take to remove the wooden piles on the south bank?" He began to think about a safe method.
"It's hard to say." Mu Sheng said with an unsightly expression: "Every day during the day, the navy of the Annan people patrols the river in small boats that can just pass the wooden piles. If our people don't get close to the wooden piles, they won't
Come here, as long as our navy gets close to the wooden pile, they will come and stop it."
"The navy I brought here is not used to operating such a small boat. Against the Annan navy, they lost more than they won. They couldn't clear the wooden piles quickly at all. They could only pull out the wooden piles bit by bit from the northernmost side with the support of the big ship.
.According to the current situation, it may take three to five months to clear a waterway for large ships to pass."