Chapter 41 Maintaining the Situation

On August 16, Zhu Gaoxu followed the Prince of Yan and led his army to Ouzhou. Ouzhou was empty and the officials opened the gates to surrender, so most of the Yan army was stationed inside and outside Ouzhou.

The Prince of Yan held court in the lobby of the provincial government office and ordered all the generals to settle down their camps and then go to the lobby to discuss matters.

Zhu Gaoxu's left guards enclosed a piece of land in front of the palace and set up camp. Wang Bin and others chose a house, and more than 200 soldiers and horses accompanied Zhu Gaoxu to live in it. When Zhu Gaoxu came in, the yard was full of people and horses. He didn't know where the original owner of the house was. He must have been driven away by the soldiers.

He asked Wang Bin about the Southern Army general he had captured last night. Soon, Wang Bin brought the man into the inverted room.

"Kill me if you want!" The man with his hands tied behind his back came in and grunted again.

Zhu Gaoxu said, "You want to show your loyalty and bravery. I have already received it. There is no need to repeat it."

The man was stunned for a moment, but didn't know how to respond.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at him. The man's face had been wiped and was not as dirty as last night. He did not look like a fierce man. In the words of the Taoist priest, this man had a "female appearance", with unclear facial features, a round face and big eyes. He looked gentle, but he was indeed a military general. He had a good method in deploying his troops last night.

Zhu Gaoxu walked forward and spoke calmly, as if chatting, "The man who arrested you is called Wang Bin. Wang Bin may have told you that I am the second son of the Prince of Yan, Prince of Gaoyang, Zhu Gaoxu. What is your name and what is your official position?"

Even the prince introduced himself first. The man hesitated for a moment and said, "I am the captain, Liu Ying."

"Hundred households?" Zhu Gaoxu was a little surprised. "You deployed more than a hundred people last night."

Liu Ying said, "The camp is in chaos. The captain and deputy captain are nowhere to be found. I will gather my men first and then call the others to form a battle formation."

"Captain Liu's talent is more than that of a captain." Zhu Gaoxu praised him while personally untying Liu Ying's rope.

Liu Ying moved his arms and stood there a little confused. Because of Zhu Gaoxu's courtesy, he was embarrassed to curse, but he was also embarrassed to surrender immediately. He had a very awkward expression.

Zhu Gaoxu advised, "The military officers in the court are all hereditary, and there are tens of thousands of centurions. You are a centurion, and you will still be a centurion when you are old. Who will remember whether you are dead or alive? What's more, you were defeated and captured last night. Even if you can go back now, you will probably be punished by military law. We are all soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, and I am the grandson of Taizu. Why should you risk your life to choose a side?"

Zhu Gaoxu paused, and said in a more serious tone, "Even if the imperial court wants to select a team, will it be your turn, Captain Liu?"

Wang Bin said from behind, "Captain Liu, the person in front of you is the prince. Don't miss the opportunity, come back and pat your thigh!"

Liu Ying frowned and stood for a while, then suddenly knelt on one knee, clasped his fists and said, "I have heard of the great name of King Gaoyang in the capital, and I am willing to serve you!"

Zhu Gaoxu stretched out his big hand and patted Liu Ying on the shoulder. "Very good. I have to go see the Prince of Yan first."

As soon as he walked out of the room, he heard Wang Bin's voice behind him, "Cut the round shield, did you take the shield last night? I think your face looks like a round shield, haha..."

When Zhu Gaoxu arrived at the lobby of the yamen, he saw Prince Yan sitting on the official seat under the plaque that read "A Bright Mirror Hanging High".

The Prince of Yan first sent word that Zhang Bao, a general of the Southern Army, had surrendered last night, and then he exaggerated the situation of the battle last night in the hall, saying that the Southern Army was completely defeated and had no power to resist. He also said in public, "The Southern Army is vulnerable. We will immediately go south to Zhending and take advantage of the victory to defeat Geng Bingwen in one fell swoop!"

Then, the King of Yan actually ordered Zhang Bao to be sent back! Zhang Bao was worried and a little reluctant, but he still left.

After sending off the surrendered general, the King of Yan immediately looked back at the generals and said, "The surrendered general Zhang Bao has told me the deployment of the government troops. Geng Bingwen's army is stationed on both sides of the Hutuo River. I just told Zhang Bao that when he goes back and shouts that the Yan army is going to attack Zhending... I will wait for a day. When Geng Bingwen moves the government troops on the south bank to the north bank, the army formation will be in turmoil, and our cavalry will take advantage of the situation to attack him!"

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he seemed to understand, but also seemed not to understand, and felt a little confused.

The ancients had a strange way of thinking. Why did Geng Bingwen move his entire army to the north bank and set up battle array outside the city after hearing the news? Geng Bingwen could have also let the government troops on the north bank defend the city, while the government troops on the south bank confronted each other across the river to stabilize their position first.

Perhaps the Southern Army's vanguard was defeated, and Geng Bingwen wanted to concentrate his forces for a field battle to restore morale; or perhaps he considered that there were government troops in Hejian Prefecture, northeast of Zhending, and wanted to attack the invading Yan Army from both sides?

These inferences and considerations all have some truth and possibility. What Zhu Gaoxu doesn't understand is why the Prince of Yan can be so sure?

Zhu Gaoxu did not think that he was stupider than the ancients, so he thought that the way of thinking of Prince Yan and Geng Bingwen was very strange. In Zhu Gaoxu's view, every link of this strategy was full of uncertainties.

Regardless, Zhu Gaoxu still had self-awareness and did not say anything after listening. He waited for the Prince of Yan to finish speaking, then stood up and clasped his fists and said, "Father, last night I captured a centurion of the Southern Army. Please deal with him as you wish."

It seemed against the rules not to report the capture of prisoners, especially since the generals of the Left Guard were watching them, so Zhu Gaoxu reported it first.

Prince Yan turned his head and glanced at Zhu Gaoxu, then stood up and said casually, "Okay."

The central army was ordered to rest for a day, and Zhu Gaoxu took people to the shops to "requisition" a batch of cotton cloth, and called the soldiers to cut it into triangular flags. There were 100 red flags, 100 green flags, and 100 blue flags. Zhu Gaoxu also ordered to write the word "tiger" on them and tie them to the small flag poles.

In the evening, he summoned his subordinates and generals to his mansion to discuss matters.

When the six thousand households and deputy thousand households arrived and greeted each other, Zhu Gaoxu ordered people to hand out green and blue pennants to them and said, "We are cavalrymen, and we will fight quickly. In the future, we may lose our horses and run around and be unable to find each other. You take the pennants back and select 100 people to tie them on their backs when you go into battle. I will also ask my personal soldiers to put up red pennants. They will be recognizable at a glance on the battlefield."

Qianhu Zhang Wu's face immediately turned very ugly. He might have heard something from the words...the words criticizing Zhu Gaoxu might have been heard.

Zhang Wu frowned and said, "King Gaoyang has been through many battles, why would he need this kind of thing? We can recognize these flags, and so can the enemy soldiers. Wouldn't this just invite the enemy soldiers to attack King Gaoyang's central army?"

Zhu Gaoxu turned around and said, "My personal soldiers are all the best soldiers. Why would I be afraid of the enemy attacking?"

Just as Zhang Wu was about to refute, Zhu Gaoxu said coldly, "Captain Zhang, do you want to disobey orders?"

"I... dare not!" Zhang Wu's face turned dark and he sighed.

The generals remained silent. Although they did not object, they seemed unhappy about this matter.

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand and said, "Disperse."

Several generals saluted and said, "I will take my leave."

The troops rested in Luzhou City for one night, and after breakfast the next day, they moved out of camp one after another. Zhu Gaoxu was ordered to lead his troops to follow the main force of Prince Yan to the south.

Halfway through the journey, Zhu Gaoxu redeployed his command and transferred two cavalry units totaling 800 cavalry to the central army, under his direct command. Zhang Wu and two other thousand households each led two cavalry units of 800 cavalry.

Zhu Gaoxu also ordered Wei Da to take over the post of a thousand-household officer and command the Quanyong Team. Zhu Gaoxu would report this adjustment to the King of Yan only after the army re-camped.

The generals were quite dissatisfied with this, and their private complaints gradually reached Zhu Gaoxu's ears. However, Zhu Gaoxu was determined to stick to his own path... It was better than that night when everyone couldn't find each other and rushed up to do whatever they wanted, right?

The army marched across the plains in a mighty manner, with banners and flags like clouds, which was very spectacular. It was a good time to ride horses on the battlefield as the weather was clear and cool in autumn. However, Zhu Gaoxu was unhappy along the way, and many of his generals were dissatisfied. He only managed to maintain the situation because of his status as a prince.

That night, the army set up camp on the spot, and the King of Yan summoned the generals of various tribes to the central army to discuss matters.

At this time, the army was not far from the Hutuo River. Zhu Gaoxu rode all the way to the central army and guessed that there would be another battle!

Zhu Gaoxu was filled with worry, thinking: This time we are fighting against Geng Bingwen, a veteran general left behind by Emperor Taizu, so it will probably be a tough battle. If he doesn't perform well and lets his father down at the critical moment, what should I do?

He had a muscular body, but at this moment he felt that he really didn't like being a military commander.

As expected, when they arrived at the central army camp, the King of Yan immediately began to deploy the battle!

The King of Yan pointed to the south with his big hand and said, "Geng Bingwen's entire army has crossed the Hutuo River..."

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu immediately worshipped his father. He really got it right! ?

The King of Yan said, "Early tomorrow morning, our Yan army's infantry and cavalry will approach the government troops from the front. The government troops will surround the city and form a battle array. Then I will use the vanguard cavalry to go around their backs and attack their sides along the city. This will surely break their formation! Then I will personally lead the army to attack and defeat Geng Bingwen in one battle!"

All the generals bowed in admiration, "The King of Yan is wise and powerful!"

Prince Yan turned around and saw Zhu Gaoxu, and said, "Gaoxu, you and Zhang Yu are the bravest. Tomorrow morning you will be the vanguard."

Zhu Gaoxu gritted his teeth and saluted with Zhang Yu, saying, "Your son (general) obeys your command!"

The Prince of Yan said, "After Gao Xu and Zhang Yu arrive in Zhending, we will go around their backs. Gao Xu will attack from the west, and Zhang Yu will attack from the east. We must shake their formation!"

"Yes, sir!"

Zhu Gaoxu received the military order and returned to the left guard camp. He waited until the evening to summon the generals above the rank of deputy thousand households to convey the military order. This was to prevent the military secrets from being leaked, otherwise the unlucky ones would be the vanguards.

After the generals left, Zhu Gaoxu found the captured Liu Ying and had a night talk with him. He asked Liu Ying how the government troops formed a battle array and what its characteristics were. Zhu Gaoxu also took notes with a pen.

For a moment, he seemed to have returned to the time before an exam in his previous life. Because he had not been serious in his normal life and knew nothing about it, he could only cram at the last minute and stay up late to read and take notes.

But it’s different now. Zhu Gaoxu feels that he is very serious, but he is still unsure... Some people are already muttering behind his back. If he makes another mistake, what will his prestige in the army be? How will Captain Zhang Wu criticize him tomorrow?