Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

Cao Ada added: "The situation of this servant has been verified. He is indeed here with the mission. He speaks Chinese and is responsible for assisting in arranging the food and daily life of Annan officials."

Li Jinglong nodded and said, "Let him wait for a while. The military discussion here is not over yet."

Then, Li Jinglong turned the topic to the [Qinghua Landing] plan that was interrupted just now.

"It's just that although the plan is good, and the hydrology and geography of Thanh Hoa Port are roughly understood, after all, it is the western capital of Annan Kingdom, and there are still risks. If the beach landing is unsuccessful and something unexpected happens, it can easily lead to passive beach grabbing and expansion. Beachhead positions and the establishment of temporary docks are projects that our army has never practiced before, and no one is sure whether something will go wrong."

Li Jinglong's indecisive character undoubtedly emerged at this time.

Liu Sheng and Xu Yingxu also knew that although it was a bit out of time, there was actually nothing wrong with the plan. At this time, they had to give coach Li Jinglong a boost and must not let his will be shaken.

Liu Sheng said slowly: "The Duke's worries are not unreasonable, but since we have decided to carry out the landing operation, we cannot have any scruples. If we make too many assumptions, we will be subject to the enemy in every aspect, and how can we fight this battle? ? If we had not made a decision earlier, we would have immediately invaded the hinterland of Annan."

Xu Yingxu echoed: "What Brother Liu said is absolutely true. We are entangled here. I am afraid that the Annan people have already been planning. If the Annan people delay the time, it will be extremely detrimental to us. We must capture the Annan Kingdom as soon as possible. After all, the troops are sent The window period is only from October to December. The Mongols’ defeat can be said to be a lesson learned!”

After thinking for a while, Li Jinglong finally nodded, making up his final determination to fight: "This battle must be resolved quickly, and no extraneous matters must be allowed."

Next is the problem of this inexplicable servant of the mission.

"Servant of the mission? Not necessarily." Li Jinglong shook his head, thinking in his mind.

It is very likely that this person will not really come to surrender. It is possible that he is just a spy pretending to be a spy, deliberately sending false information to confuse himself.

But if you ignore it, you may really lose the opportunity to obtain important information.

But it’s nothing to listen to. After all, since the meeting with Huang Fu, Kang Zhen, Han Guan, He Jun and others, they have begun secretly planning the [Tanghua Landing] plan. In fact, the preliminary preparations are almost done.

Although I am not completely ready yet, I am at least somewhat confident.

Thinking of this, Li Jinglong narrowed his eyes slightly: "Invite him in."

After a while, a man wearing a black turban and dark gray handyman clothes walked in, knelt on his knees and said, "See you, Ming Dynasty lords!"

Li Jinglong tapped his fingers on the table and asked, "Tell me, who is your master? Why are you sent here?"

The man said in a low voice: "My master is Chen Gongsu, the Sanjiang pacifier of the Annan Kingdom. I hope to use your country's power to eradicate the Hu family's traitors!"

Xu Yingxu and Liu Sheng looked at each other after hearing this.

Eradicate the traitors?

Li Jinglong looked at this man with cold eyes. Could he be an old official of the Annan Kingdom who was loyal to the Chen Dynasty? What is the intention of this Annan envoy? Could it be that he wanted to take the opportunity to rebel against the Hus and his son? Whatever the speculation is, it will soon be verified.

Thinking of this, Li Jinglong couldn't help but frown: "Sanjiang pacification envoy Chen Gongsu?"

Xu Yingxu usually guards the archives and knows the country of Annan relatively well. He added: "The relatives of the Chen Dynasty are just on the side of the Hu family and his son."

The servant raised his head and replied in a hoarse voice: "My master is just doing what Ji Han and Jiang Boyue did, to feed the enemy with his own body."

Hearing this, Liu Sheng was a little stunned, but he still did not let down his guard.

As for Chen Gongsu, it turns out that he is a relative of the Annan Kingdom. This is not surprising. This kind of thing has happened many times throughout the ages, not to mention that he is not a direct blood relative of the Annan royal family.

Presumably because of this, it is logical that he was reduced to a vassal of the Hu family and his son, but was not liquidated.

But now, things seem to be getting tricky.

After all, no matter which dynasty or generation, there is always some prejudice against the attitude of such surrenderers. No one can be sure whether it is true or false, let alone how much is true and how false.

Thinking of this, Liu Sheng couldn't help but glance at Li Jinglong.

But they found that the Duke, who was usually the most frivolous, now had a gloomy look on his face and stared at the servant with a complicated expression.

"How dare you lie to me!"

Li Jinglong suddenly shouted harshly, with a cold and murderous tone in his words, giving people the illusion that the temperature in the room dropped sharply.

This is the majesty and domineering power of a commander of hundreds of thousands of troops, which makes people instinctively fear and admire him.

However, the servant did not waver at all, and did not even blink: "I am not lying at all."

With that said, he took out a letter: "This is a letter written by my master to His Majesty the Ming Emperor. Please take a look at it, generals."

No one picked it up for a long time.

Li Jinglong spoke slowly: "What's your name?"

"I'm Zhang Yi."

"You just said that your master entrusted you to deliver a letter to His Majesty. What is the content of this letter?"

"this"

When asked about the content of the letter, Zhang Yi hesitated slightly.

But in the end, Zhang Yi gritted his teeth and said: "To prevent leaks, this is a fake letter. My master asked me to tell you that the troops accompanying the mission are Goshawk warriors under the Hu family and his son. Among them is the person in charge of espionage. Please generals, please be vigilant and never let down your guard. My master really wants to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. When the time is right, please see my master alone. If there is anything else, I will not let you down. Clear."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became solemn.

Liu Sheng glanced at the servant and then glanced at Li Jinglong, while Xu Yingxu fell into deep thought.

Only Li Jinglong still sat in his seat without saying a word, just staring at Zhang Yi.

After a few breaths, Li Jinglong let out a long sigh, nodded and said: "I understand, put the letter down, I will find an opportunity to contact your master."

Zhang Yi was overjoyed when he heard this and quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude.

Xu Yingxu and Liu Sheng looked at this scene with strange expressions.

They all felt that things might be in trouble.

really.

Li Jinglong then waved his hand and said, "You should step back first."

Zhang Yi bowed respectfully, then retreated and disappeared into the night.

After he left, Liu Sheng couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Cao Guogong, do you think this person is real or fake? Does Chen Gongsu intend to surrender to the Ming Dynasty?"

Li Jinglong said calmly: "This letter comes at a strange time."

Xu Yingxu nodded in agreement upon hearing this: "Yes, a letter of unknown origin suddenly appeared, and the identity of this person cannot be determined, and even the identity of the so-called 'Chen Gongsu' cannot be determined. This kind of thing is definitely not simple."

Li Jinglong smiled and said meaningfully: "Perhaps this is just a test?"

Liu Sheng nodded slightly.

This is not impossible.

Don't forget, no one has seen what this Sanjiang pacifier Chen Gongsu looks like.

Therefore, if we look at the previous methods used by the Hu family and his son to send fake Pei Boxi into the Ming Dynasty to spy on intelligence, it is not necessarily true whether Chen Gongsu is real or fake.

They were probably acting!

Xu Yingxu frowned slightly and reminded: "However, although the so-called 'surrender' this time happened by coincidence, if it is true, there may be unexpected gains. The Sanjiang pacification envoy is a high-ranking official and must have control over many Annan kingdoms." It’s best for the Duke to meet his secret.”

Liu Sheng nodded when he heard this: "Xu Qianshi is right."

"It makes sense."

Li Jinglong changed the topic and continued: "This time, let's give him a chance."

"What does the Duke mean?"

"Haha, when the soldiers come to cover up the water and the earth, I will see what tricks the Annan Kingdom is playing. There will be a banquet tonight to entertain the envoys of the Annan Kingdom. You go and inform them."

"Here!"

General Cao Ada bowed to accept the order and left quickly.

Xu Yingxu also left. As the chief of staff, he still had many things to be busy with.

Liu Sheng, who was only in charge of the firearms unit, actually had nothing to do at this time. He stood there, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "My lord, do you think what Zhang Yi said is reliable?"

Li Jinglong glanced sideways and said calmly: "He's just an errand boy, what do you think?"

"Well--"

Liu Sheng scratched his head in embarrassment and quickly shut up.

Yes, Zhang Yi is just an errand boy.

His master is an envoy from Annan, and that's what's important.

Rather than spending time confirming Zhang Yi's identity, it is better to confirm Chen Gongsu's identity.

"By the way, Liu Qianshi, go and invite Chen Tianping over to join us at the dinner party."

Others may not be able to, but Chen Tianping worked hard to plan for the restoration of the country. He should be able to grasp and confirm the identities of these senior officials of Annan Kingdom. Of course, if it is as Li Jinglong expected, the so-called "Sanjiang pacifier Chen Gongsu" was in If he was cheating, Li Jinglong would naturally not mind helping him and sending the entire envoy to death.

When the two armies are fighting, the one who will be killed is the envoy!

Anyway, the pair of fat and thin Toutuo sent to Annan by the Ming Dynasty did not come back.

After Liu Sheng also left, the room fell into a brief silence.

After a long time, Li Jinglong breathed a sigh of relief: "I do doubt whether this person's identity is reliable."

A person flashed out from the screen behind him, it was Jin Yiwei Qianhu Cao Song.

Cao Song said: "My lord, I think this servant should be reliable. His words and deeds are in line with common sense. In addition, what this servant provided is very likely to be the truth. The spy deployed by our army in Annan Kingdom has indeed passed back the corresponding information." The news serves as confirmation.”

"Um."

Li Jinglong nodded slightly and said: "But these are not very important. In the final analysis, the intelligence matters are just the icing on the cake. What is really important is the shipping. I have ordered someone to send a message to Zheng He. I don't know how Zheng He will arrange it. ?When are you coming back?"

Since Li Jinglong has decided to implement the [Tanghua Landing] plan and cut off Annan Kingdom in the middle, the most important thing at the moment is naturally maritime transport capacity. In this era, if he wants to transport 60,000 to 70,000 troops to the capital of another country, It is by no means an easy task. The transportation capacity of the Guangdong Navy and some civilian ships in Li Jinglong's hands is absolutely insufficient. Zheng He's cooperation is required before any action can be taken.

Cao Song replied: "According to the information we received before, the Sanbao eunuchs have begun to return north, and it will take about fourteen days."

"That's enough. It will take some time to move part of the army to the coast." Li Jinglong nodded slightly.

Just when Li Jinglong and others were discussing how to deal with Annan's envoys.

On the other side, the members of the Annan envoy who had already arrived in Longzhou Prefecture were trying to plan their future like frightened birds. As soon as they entered the city, they were welcomed into the post house to rest and quickly disarmed. The surrounding Ming army said it was protection, but in fact it was surveillance.

In the post house, an old man was anxiously waiting for news. This old man was the Sanjiang pacification envoy of Annan Kingdom, Chen Gongsu.

Chen Gongsu, who had just settled down, had a travel-worn look on his face. It was obvious that the delegation had traveled all night to get here.

At this moment, his eyes were wandering, because Chen Gongsu was very worried whether his little move would fail. After all, after experiencing the Pei Boxi case, it would be difficult for Daming to trust other people's identities, and whether Zhang Yi's move would be fooled. It's hard to say what the Goshawk warriors under the command of his father and son discovered.

The surroundings were always quiet, like the calm before the storm, which made Chen Gongsu feel even more terrified.

However, Chen Gongsu was the Sanjiang pacifier after all, and he was considered a high-ranking official in Annan Kingdom. Therefore, he quickly adjusted his mentality and regained his calm appearance.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

When he opened the door, Zhang Yi, dressed as a servant, walked in and said, "Da Ming refused to believe it, but he said he would give you a chance to talk alone."

"That's good."

Chen Gongsu breathed a sigh of relief and said: "This time the Hu family and his son will definitely end up with no bones left. It is said that no eggs are left intact after the nest is overturned. There is no need for us to bury the Hu family and his son with them. It is better to jump on the Ming Dynasty ship as soon as possible."

Zhang Yi suddenly said: "But I still got news."

"Tongpanjian Mei Xiufu and Jiang Bin held secret talks for half a night last night. Today they entered Longzhou City. They each wanted to send someone to send a message to the people of the Ming Dynasty, but they failed."

"oh?"

Chen Gongsu's eyes flashed and he immediately asked: "What do they want to do?"

"I have an idea for you."

"Ah."

Hearing this, Chen Gongsu sneered: "They all said they would not surrender even if they were beaten to death. Now everyone is thinking of changing their tune. This was something they had discussed a long time ago, but they used it to prevaricate me. It's just that the people they sent I’m just not as clever as you.”

Zhang Yi couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this.

He didn't know what the outcome of the discussion between the two was, but what was certain was that the other two would definitely surrender. After all, no one wanted to be on the side that was doomed to lose when the war broke out.

"That's all."

Chen Gongsu gritted his teeth and said in a cold voice: "When it comes to the dinner, let's adapt accordingly."

——————

At this moment, in Shenglong Mansion, the eastern capital of Annan Kingdom.

Hu Jisao was sitting in the pavilion of the "Imperial Garden", enjoying tea leisurely.

Opposite him sat his son, Hu Hancang, the current Emperor of Dayu. The two were fighting around a chess game. This was something their father and son did every day.

Hu Ji Yao is a person with a stable character and does not take risks easily, so he is often more able to maintain his composure in this kind of game. In this game, the two of them have been fighting fiercely for half an hour.

Hu Jiya was still calm and composed.

Looking back at Hu Hancang, sweat gradually broke out on his forehead.

In the end, Hu Hancang landed a black chess piece and said with a wry smile: "This move is difficult to make."

Hu Jiyou glanced at him lightly, he dropped Bai Zi and said calmly: "You lose!"

Hu Hancang put down the chess pieces, looked at his father and asked: "Actually, there is one thing that I have never thought about. If the mission only relies on the goshawk warriors as accompanying soldiers, it may not be able to have any effect in spying on intelligence."

"These five hundred Goshawk warriors were originally abandoned sons used to confuse the Ming army."

Hu Ji Yao stroked his white beard and said calmly: "The Jin Yiwei must have investigated Annan's situation. It is impossible for them not to know about the existence of Goshawk Rui."

"But the Sanjiang pacification envoy Chen Gongsu, Tongpanmei Hideo, and Qianpan Jiang Bin, it seems that these three people in the envoy may have turned around and defected to the Ming Dynasty and sold us out. What on earth was father thinking? What is inside this? Who is the undercover agent installed by my father?"

When Hu Jisao heard this, he suddenly laughed and said, "No one."

Hu Jiyou waved his hand and said: "The commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty must have guessed that we have a conspiracy, so he has been prepared for this. However, this time he is destined to make a miscalculation, because these missions are sent to He asked him to make random guesses. If someone rebels, it doesn't matter whether the Goshawk Regiment will discover and execute him. What's important is to disturb the attention of the people of the Ming Dynasty."

"Why?"

Hu Hancang asked.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Hu Ji Yao raised his head and laughed, his eyes narrowed with an icy coldness, and he said: "What do you think you can accomplish with that group of trash?"

"The ones who really spy on the intelligence are not the envoys or the accompanying soldiers, but the elephant trainers who have just set off! These are the real spies. They can sneak into the Ming army without attracting attention, even if they escape, they can also No one will go to great lengths to hunt down.”

"I see!"

Hu Hancang suddenly realized it, and then frowned and said: "Then what if they notice it in advance?"

Hu Jiyou snorted coldly: "Then let them notice in advance! This mission was originally to buy time. There was something I didn't tell you yesterday. It was not just to wait for Pan Maxiu's army to conquer the city in the south to come back. , but also to make final preparations for strengthening the three levels.”

The three passes refer to Polei Pass, Ailiu Pass, and Jiling Pass. They are the three important passes in front of the Fuliang River defense line and are also the outposts of Duobang City.

"As long as we can delay the reinforcement of the three passes for a while longer, even if the Ming Dynasty's army presses on the border, they will not dare to act rashly. After all, these three passes are easy to defend and difficult to attack. As long as they make a slight move, I, the hundreds of thousands of troops of Annan Kingdom, will They will kill them instantly, and by then, even if the Ming army can chew through these three tough bones, the losses will definitely be considerable."

"Besides."

Having said this, Hu Jiyou had a sarcastic smile on his lips and said: "Do you think the Ming army can really withstand the climate in Annan? What we have to do is not to defeat the Ming army on the battlefield, but just to drag down three It’s just the moon.”

"this"

Hu Hancang was stunned.

Yes, although the Ming Dynasty is strong, there is still a gap between them and the invincible first and second generation Mongols. Even the Mongols cannot conquer the Annan Kingdom. Although the Ming Dynasty seems to be menacing, it is still possible. Fell into the sand in the Furian River.

After all, the victory conditions of the two sides are different. The Ming army needs to destroy the main force of the Annan Army, while the Annan Army only needs to resist continuously and hold on for three months.

After three months, the weather will get warmer and miasma will spread. By then, the plague will be rampant within the Ming army, and it is very likely that it will collapse without a fight.

Nowadays, whether it is a mission, whether it is sending gold and silver treasures, or sending elephants, the essential purpose is to delay time.

A stern look appeared in Hu Ji Ya's eyes, and he said coldly: "In recent years, our Hu family has become so powerful that many people have felt a huge threat. There are too many people who are dissatisfied with us."

"Now that foreign enemies are about to invade, it is a good opportunity to eliminate the internal opposition forces in Annan. If these people in the mission surrender to the Ming Dynasty, no matter who they are, we can take the opportunity to eliminate those opponents who were inconvenient to move before."

As he spoke, Hu Jiya's expression became more ferocious: "I have been waiting for this day for a long time!"

Hu Hancang was silent, he did not dare to object.

Although he was the emperor in name only, it was his father who truly held the power.

By now, Hu Hancang had understood his father's full intention of sending the mission.

It seems that the father gave in to Ming's demands for gold and silver elephants.

But in reality, this is a clever plan that kills two birds with one stone.

Sending a mission can buy time to strengthen the three-pass outpost defense line and mobilize the southern expedition army; the death of the mission members can create an excuse for war and occupy the moral high ground; the rebellion of the mission members can use this to eliminate domestic opposition forces and make the internal stability more stable; No matter what happens to the members of the regiment, they can disrupt the Ming Dynasty's judgment and gain better opportunities for the spies disguised as elephant trainers who are actually responsible for spying on intelligence.

Obviously, both the Hus and his son felt that they were going further and further on the road to winning.

I laugh at Jiang Xinghuo’s lack of plans and Li Jinglong’s shady wisdom

——————

At the dinner, the standards of the Ming army were very high, and basically all senior generals and officials came.

Cao Guogong Li Jinglong, Xincheng Hou Zhang Fu, Yunyang Bo Chen Xu, Chief of Staff Xu Yingxu, Artillery Commander Liu Sheng, Guangdong and Guangxi Army Commander Han Guan, Lianghu Army Commander Kang Zhen, Fujian Army Commander He Jun, and the Civil Service Magistrate of Nanning When , except for Huang Fu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, who was busy allocating supplies in Taiping Mansion, all the civil and military groups involved in the battle against Annan were present.

Chen Gongsu, the chief envoy of the Annan Kingdom mission, and Mei Xiufu and Jiang Bin, the deputy envoys, also attended with trepidation.

However, after seeing the lineup to receive Ming Dynasty, most of their original nervousness suddenly disappeared, replaced by a kind of joy of being respected.

But the style of the dinner party became a bit strange from the beginning.

Chen Gongsu surrendered wholeheartedly, and naturally knew that Ming Dynasty sent such a high-level lineup this time just to receive him and others, and it must be because of what he asked Zhang Yi to say to Li Jinglong and others, otherwise, Ming Dynasty would not take it so seriously.

So, Chen Gongsu picked up the wine glass and said with a smile: "Today, I would like to offer you a drink, please."

As soon as he finished speaking, the deputy envoy Mei Hideo next to him raised his glass and said: "I have always admired China, and I am really excited when I heard that I have the opportunity to meet the magnificent people of the country today. Please."

Jiang Bin secretly scolded Mei Xiufu for being shameless, and quickly raised his glass and said, "Me too."

"Haha, since you are so kindly invited, how can we refuse? Drink up this cup!" Li Jinglong laughed and picked up the wine glass.

"Okay! Drink this cup full!" Others agreed one after another.

Then a group of people started drinking, while the Annan envoys sat in their seats with smiles on their faces, and took the opportunity to peek at the people in the Ming Dynasty.

After watching for a while, Jiang Bin discovered a noteworthy fact. Except for the supreme commander Cao Guogong Li Jinglong, who had a civilian demeanor, there seemed to be no decent civil servants in the Ming army. There was only one civil servant huddled at the back, neither talking nor drinking.

After three drinks and five dishes, both parties were almost done drinking, and the atmosphere became lively.

Chen Gongsu took the opportunity to have someone bring out the things he had prepared long ago.

More than a dozen boxes of gold and silver jewelry were then dedicated to Li Jinglong.

This was what Ming Dynasty asked for. Annan didn't give that much gold, but the silver and other jewelry were enough.

As for the elephants, because they needed to be gathered and driven, they were much slower than the envoys and still lagged behind.

"This is what the Kingdom wants and now it is brought here."

Li Jinglong didn't even look at it, he just smiled and said to everyone: "It seems that An Nanguo has regrets."

Chen Gongsu replied humbly: "I hope our country will stop its troops and make a truce."

At this time, he looked at his two deputy envoys, obviously waiting for them to bring up the matter of surrender, but the other two did not dare to speak, because they were also afraid of the evil spirit hidden among the servants of the envoy. Will the Eagle Warrior assassinate them at the banquet?

Chen Tianping, who was disguised as a guard, had already identified Chen Gongsu, but he was wearing a visor, so Chen Gongsu could not recognize him.

Hearing Chen Tianping's whisper, Li Jinglong nodded and said, "Well, that's right. He deserves to be a famous person from Annan, and he has style."

But everyone just drank, and no one raised the issue of a truce if they took the gold and silver they asked for.

In fact, no one is a fool. Fifty thousand taels of gold is not enough to cover the cost of setting off an army of more than 200,000 to Guangxi and garrisoning troops during this period.

It is impossible to exchange 50,000 taels of gold for the Ming Dynasty to withdraw its troops.

Next, Chen Gongsu sent several gifts one after another, all of which were local jade from Annan Kingdom, ivory, rhino horn, etc.

Of course, the price of these gifts is also very high. The total amount is estimated to be several thousand taels of silver. It is obvious that Chen Gongsu personally gave it to the generals of the Ming Dynasty.

In Annan, these jade ivory and other things are actually not rare items, only agarwood is the rarest.

And on this trip to Guangxi, Chen Gongsu and others must have put a lot of thought into the personal gifts they brought.

For example, Mei Hideo gave agarwood as a gift.

After receiving the gift, the people from the Ming Army finally got to the point.

Li Jinglong opened his mouth and said loudly: "I'm hosting a banquet for you all today. I'll tell you the truth. I was entrusted by your majesty to come here specifically to conquer Annan, kill the Hu family and his son, and punish the people."

"And this is Chen Tianping, the grandson of your Annan Kingdom's Chen Dynasty."

As soon as Li Jinglong finished speaking, Chen Tianping took off his mask, and the atmosphere at the banquet suddenly became tense.

"War is inevitable."

"Now I'm just asking you, the Annan envoys, if you are willing to stop aiding the tyrants and help Chen Tianping restore his country?"

"Yes or no."

At this moment, the servants who had been carrying the boxes looked at each other, suddenly pulled out their daggers from their private parts, and rushed towards Chen Gongsu and Mei Xiufu.

But how could the Ming army be unprepared?

In an instant, the crossbow arrows fired by several hand crossbows shot through the air, accurately taking away the lives of the servants in an instant.

Those who survived being shot by arrows were also hacked to death by the Ming army and dragged down.

In the banquet hall, the bloody traces were shocking.

"Yes or no."

Li Jinglong repeated it again, this time he was obviously impatient.

Jiang Bin struggled and begged for mercy: "General, please spare my life. I am just worried."

"What are you worried about?" Li Jinglong looked at Jiang Bin indifferently and said

"The official is just worried about his wife, children and children in Annan."

This reason is indeed tenable. After all, if they surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, no, surrendered to Chen Tianping, then the Hu family and his son would definitely not let go of their wives and children in the country.

But at this moment, Mei Xiufu suddenly said: "I am willing to abandon the darkness and turn to the light!"

Well, these four words are used here, and they have the same effect as "people of the bright side don't speak secret words", especially Hideo Mei's Chinese is a bit strange, which sounds like "abandoning safety and surrendering to the bright side".

Jiang Bin was slightly stunned when he heard this, and turned his attention to Chen Gongsu, the envoy who had just escaped and was sitting in the corner silently. He didn't know what the other party's attitude was.

Chen Gongsu had previously kept Zhang Yi's affairs secret. Although Mei Xiufu had discussed it with Jiang Bin, they did not know it clearly.

At this time, seeing Jiang Bin's gaze, Chen Gongsu stood up slowly and replied: "I, Annan, have always been friendly with the State, and I would never dare to offend the majesty of China, but..."

Just when Jiang Bin thought Chen Gongsu was going to be strong-willed.

"Plop!"

Chen Gongsu fell to the ground like he was pushing up a golden mountain or toppling over a jade pillar: "But the Hu family and his son are usurping the country and are just clowns. How can they represent Annan? I am willing to lead the way for the Ming Dynasty!"

At this time, Jiang Bin quickly followed and knelt on the ground: "Heaven is my father and my mother! My wife and children can be abandoned, but my parents cannot be abandoned! I am willing to go to the country to take him in!"

Seeing the moral integrity of the Annan delegation shattered, the generals of the Ming army could no longer drink the wine in their glasses.

"In this case, when Chen Tianping returns to the country, you must assist him in governing Annan."

"I will try my best!"

Yes, this time the comprador king and the leading ministers are all here.

However, Li Jinglong was not yet completely relieved about these people, so he also placed them under house arrest to prevent them from being spies sent by the Hu family and his son to stage a ruse to fake surrender.

——————

The moon was dark and the wind was high, and a lone moon hung in the sky, covered by dark clouds.

In the post house, in a certain street, a roaring explosion suddenly sounded.

Fires shot into the sky and thick smoke billowed.

"Not good!" "Enemy attack!" "It's a sneak attack by the Ming Dynasty's army!"

Everyone in the posthouse exclaimed.

A large number of Ming troops broke through the door. They had all been resting just now, but they were suddenly attacked and fell into chaos.

Moreover, since their weapons have been confiscated, there is no resistance at all at this moment.

"Run!" "Escape!"

Inside the post house, there was chaos.

At this moment, a figure suddenly jumped out and came to an Annan soldier who was the fastest to escape.

"who?"

It's a pity that he didn't even see the other party's appearance clearly before his neck was cut off!

In the time it took for a stick of incense to be burned, the whole courtyard was filled with corpses lying on the ground.

In the post house, only the last three people were left alive.

They looked at the man in front of them with half his face disfigured in horror.

"You, you recognized the wrong person"

"Please don't kill me, I'm willing to surrender, I."

The last person didn't have time to speak.

"Shua——"

The blade passed by and the head fell to the ground.

Cao Song held the knife, then looked around, and asked his men to cut the knife one by one. After confirming that there were no survivors around, he sheathed the knife.

"Go back and report to the Duke that all the personnel accompanying the Annan Kingdom mission in the post have been strangled."

——————

On October 13th, the Annamites, who had not received news that the entire mission had been destroyed, sent over one hundred elephants that had been transported behind the mission.

Following the elephants, the Annan navy was mobilized to cross the Fuliang River. The water fortress and river defense situation of the Fuliang River were clearly seen by the flying eagle guards in the sky with telescopes.

The Ming Dynasty finally completed all the intelligence preparations required before the war, and Zheng He's navy also docked at the coastal port.

Li Jinglong planned to launch the "Thanh Hoa Landing" operation, and the prerequisite was naturally to attack on the front line of Fuliang River and attract the attention of the main force of Annan Army as much as possible.

Li Jinglong used soldiers from Huanghuai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces as the vanguard, Guangxi wolf soldiers from Han Guan as the second echelon, and Lianghu troops from Kangzhen as the reserve team.

At the same time, Li Jinglong sent some elite soldiers who were suitable for sea transportation, as well as Fujian soldiers who were more suitable for naval battles, landings and other combat tasks, to coastal ports to cooperate with Zheng He in preparing for landing operations.

On that day, Xincheng Hou Zhang Fu sacrificed his blood and led twenty elite guards. Under the cover of Liu Sheng's heavy artillery, they launched a fierce attack on Po Lei Pass, the boundary between Annan Kingdom and Ming Dynasty.

The Battle of Annan has officially begun!