On December 12, the third year of Jianwen, Zhu Di swore a swearing to the south. At this time, there was no official army in the north that could stop the Yan army. Sheng Yong, who had lost his troops and generals, had not recovered his vitality. He Fu's 50,000 southern soldiers were not accustomed to the cold and were stationed outside Jinan City.

Half a month later, the Yan army avoided the defenders of Zhending and Dezhou, and went straight to Shandong and entered Huaibei from the gap between the two. Zhu Di sent generals such as Li Yuan to lead thousands of cavalry to investigate the movements of the officers and clear the roads.

The weakness of the official army was somewhat beyond Zhu Di's expectations. Zhu Neng, the general of the former army, defeated the official army commander Jia Rong in one battle, killed 700 people, and captured 2,000 troops.

Li Yuan's 800 cavalry attacked ten thousand people from the commander Ge Jin who crossed the river from Dezhou to the north. The official army got off the horse and placed the horses at the end. Seeing that Li Yuan also got off the horse and invited the battle, the official army couldn't help but look down on him when he saw that there were few soldiers in the Yan army. Ge Jin yelled and rushed over first. Li Yuan led his men to retreat, and the official army, who was eager to make contributions, pursued him relentlessly.

At this time, the two hundred Yan troops sneaked into the enemy's back and killed the guards and let all the horses go. Li Yuan then began to counterattack. The official army was defeated and retreated. He found that the horses were gone. For a moment, the morale of the army was in chaos. Li Yuan led his troops to take advantage of the situation and beheaded more than 4,000 levels in one battle. Many soldiers drowned and died. Many horses fell into the hands of the Yan army, and Ge Jin was spared only.

Zhu Di was extremely happy, especially Li Yuan, who had defeated 800 troops, made great contributions, and his soldiers praised him, and the command of the military academies below were all promoted to the next level.

When he learned that Sheng Yong had only 30,000 to 40,000 troops, he was unable to invade Hebei. General Qu Neng died of injury and illness. Chen Hui went to the northwest to recruit soldiers, and Tie Xuan was trapped in Jinan City. Without any scruples, Zhu Di led his troops to advance south, conquered Guantao across the Wei River and arrived at Dong'a, captured Dongping, and captured Wenshang. He was invincible all the way to Kejie, bypassed Confucius' hometown Qufu, and broke through the important town Dongping in two days. The commander of the guard Zhan Jing was defeated and captured. The civil servants such as the prefect fled without a trace.

Zheng Hua, a minor official from Dongping who was demoted in the early years of Jianwen, stood firm in the city and fought to the death without retreating. After the city was broken, he died of hunger strike for five days.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Yan army captured Pei County. Yan Huan, the descendant of Yan Zhenqing, left a desperate poem and committed suicide by pursuing his father. The chief clerk Liao Ziqing and Dianshi Huang Qian vowed not to surrender, and the two calmly went to the trouble.

The Yan army continued to attack Xuzhou. The branch general Wang Cong attacked Xiaoxian. The magistrate Zheng Shucheng broke into martyrdom. Xuzhou was the throat of the north and south. The city was full of soldiers and food, and it has always been easy to defend but difficult to attack.

For some reason, the rapid advancement of Yan army did not bring the powerful new artillery. Zhang Fu's Divine Machinery Camp was left in Hebei.

Therefore, although Zhu Di used his tricks repeatedly, he failed to take Xuzhou. He stayed for a month and went to Suzhou. Suzhou was the hometown of King Xu's grandfather, King Xu. The surname of King Xu was Ma, and was the father of Empress Gao Ma.

Seeing Suzhou approaching, Zhu Di warned the soldiers of the entire army that there was a ancestral grave and should not be harassed. Because Zhu Di always claimed to be the legitimate birth of Empress Gao, he once again ordered his subordinates and the people to be in trouble. He sent his son-in-law Li Rang to pay tribute to him and gave him a generous gift to the relatives of King Xu.

Suzhou did not resist. The Yan army passed through Suzhou to lead Xuzhou troops to chase after him, leaving behind the commander Jin Ming to welcome the enemy. Jin Ming set up an ambush by the river, but accidentally shocked the official army. The official army immediately launched a counterattack. Seeing this, Jin Ming hurriedly led his troops to flee to the other side of the river. The Xuzhou defenders watched Yan army leave, but had no choice but to return without military order.

The Yan army continued to advance to Mengcheng and stationed in Wohe. Tiexuan learned about the intention of Yan King's advance south and mobilized defenders from many places to rush to organize 40,000 people to intercept them.

In order to win the hearts of the people, the 80,000 Yan troops rarely plundered the people's food, and the supplies in the rear could not be transported. Therefore, the food they carried was almost the same. They were ambushed for many days without seeing any trace of the official army. The generals could not calm down and asked to return to the army. Zhu Di firmly disagreed and rejected the proposal to transfer Dalian Xu Hao to lead the fleet to support him.

Five days later, the Yan army, which had lost food, defeated 40,000 officials. Yu Xiaohe killed 20,000 officials, captured generals Ding Liang and Zhu Bin. The remaining officials retreated back to the south bank, ushered in Sheng Yong's main force for 40,000, and joined forces.

The Yan army obtained the food left by the government army and was able to fill the stomach, while the government army had no food and had no choice but to pick wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger.

On the 22nd, the two armies fought fiercely in Qimeishan, with casualties and suddenly heavy fog filled the battlefield, making it difficult to distinguish between the enemy and us, so both sides conquered their troops and returned to the camp.

Sheng Yong felt that the troops were inferior to the Yan army, so he adopted the tactic of step by step, digging trenches every day to control the Yan army. Often, the trenches that had been built overnight were about to be completed, so he had to give up the army and chase the Yan army forward. When the Yan army formed the formation, he had to hurriedly retreat ten miles to continue digging the soil. The soldiers were exhausted and their combat power was greatly affected.

On the other hand, the Yan army did not dig trenches or built camps, but only distributed teams and arranged halberds as gates, so the soldiers could get enough rest.

However, Sheng Yong did not let the Yan army take advantage of it. He calmly commanded and responded calmly, and firmly restrained the enemy with a tired army. Unless Zhu Di made up his mind to fight decisively, he would not be able to do anything to the official army.

The Yan army drove south and entered the central part of the capital, and the resistance encountered was getting greater and greater. The tired and hungry Sheng Yong army finally received food and salary supplies from the surrounding prefectures and counties after half a month, and subsequent reinforcements rushed forward continuously. Every day, the gap between the two sides gradually widened and even quickly tilted towards the official army.

At the same time, Xu Hao arrived in Peiping on a boat, furious at the counselors who had lost the news of the King of Yan, and angrily accused Gu Cheng and other generals of incompetence. He had the highest official position and no one dared to speak out, and was driven out in shame.

Xu Hao left Xie Jin and Yang Shiqi behind and said to Zhu Gaochi and Yao Guangxiao: "Just just sit stupidly? Do nothing?"

Zhu Gaochi smiled bitterly and said, "What else can I do when my father strictly ordered to defend Peiping before leaving?"

Xu Hao said angrily: "It has been more than three months since the army was sent. What should I do if I lose the battle alone? At least a military horse will be sent to assist in the war and provide military supplies and food. No one in all directions can threaten Peiping. Sitting here can only prove that you are incompetent."

Zhu Gaochi frowned and said, "Who can I send you without a military order? You have to guard Liaodong and I have to stay in Peiping. Could you let Gao Sui go there?"

"If there is an emergency, I don't care. Please stay with the master and the two masters." Xu Hao said again: "Assist Gao Sui in Guarding Beiping and controlling Liaodong, let's go south together."

"You?" Zhu Gaochi was suddenly surprised.

Xu Hao said: "This time, my uncle is undoubtedly taking a gamble. Either capture the capital or the entire army is killed. There is no other possibility. If you want to be able to defend Peking at such an important moment, you can do nothing? Victory! Gao Xi's prestige will overtake you. I don't need to say much about your future difficulties. Even if my uncle can escape back if he loses, the 80,000 elite troops who have lost are simply irreparable. If you have the determination to inherit the throne, then you have to make a choice."

Zhu Gaochi felt his heart pounding. This statement means that everyone has opened the skylight and said something bright. Yao Guangxiao’s identity is transcendent, and the other three are the confidants who support him the most. Xu Hao said it right. He must make a decision immediately, otherwise he will lose the support of the people below.

Zhu Gaochi had legs and feet that were not convenient, and his body was fat. Finally, he struggled and smiled bitterly: "Then I will give you military orders, can you go south?"

Xu Hao felt very disappointed. He said coldly: "Yes. But what should I do if Gao Xi replaces you? I will help you save Gao Xi's life. But after Gao Xi becomes the prince, what will I use to save you?"

"I understand." Zhu Gaochi's fat round face was sweating. At this moment, Yao Guangxiao suddenly nodded slowly. He immediately felt refreshed and gritted his teeth and said, "There are three adults at home."

Soon, Zhu Gaochi ignored the dissuasion of civil and military officials and his mother's disapproval, and left his third brother Zhu Gaosui, who was fiercely opposed, in Peiping. He followed Xu Hao and went to Cangzhou with five thousand troops, and ordered Zhang Fu's Shenji Camp to take a boat south to Dezhou.

The 15,000 musketeers, especially Xu Hao who was armed to the teeth, were all the latest flintlock rifles, each with hundreds of paper shell bullets and sharp bayonets, and the supply was continuously transported through the Muxi fleet. The combat power was much stronger than the soldiers of the Shenji Camp who were equipped with a large number of muskets and guts. Although the accuracy distance of the coercion gun was better than that of the smoothbore flintlock rifles, it was far less than that of the two thousand rifled flintlock rifles.

Of course, fighting cannot be done by whether the weapons are excellent or not. Most of Xu Hao's soldiers are not as good as the Shenji Camp, which is an indisputable fact. But together, they are probably the most terrifying combat power in the world. In addition, Xu Song's artillery battalion, which has been through many battles, captured the weak city of Dezhou without any effort.

In the Yan army camp, which was confronting the official army, the weather was getting hotter and hotter. What was most difficult to adapt to the soldiers in the north was the humidity, which made everyone physically exhausted and unacceptable to the local environment. They were easily infected with diseases by the army alone for thousands of miles away, which made the Yan army generally feel war-weary.

On this day, the generals came to the tent of King Yan one after another and asked Zhu Di to withdraw their troops, because the army went deep into the stalemate with the enemy, and had lost its unexpected aura. If they insisted on holding on, it was about to reach midsummer. At this time, war was a jealous of military tactics. Moreover, there were many rains in the Huai area and the Yan army was afraid of heat. Once large-scale plague, malaria and other epidemics occurred, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Zhang Yu suggested: "There are many cattle and sheep in the wilderness of the small river, and the wheat is about to be ripe, and there is enough food inside and outside the city. It is better to cross the river and choose a place to camp, rest people and horses, and observe the enemy's movement. This is a perfect way."

Faced with the requests of the generals, Zhu Di couldn't help but be anxious. He had not been lifted for several days and looked very haggard.

Unexpectedly, Zhuo would be so afraid of difficulties, and he couldn't help but say angrily: "The military affairs are advanced but not retreat." He could not help but explain and encourage him. Finally, he said: "I deliberately led his troops to the south. There are many soldiers from the south. They worked hard for a long time. Who wouldn't think about their family? If they can defeat them, they will return to their hometowns. How can they get together again?"

Many rude generals nodded frequently, but Zhang Yuzhu and a few others heard that the King of Yan was deliberately making a sophistry. If you say that you miss your home, the Yan army is far away from your hometown, wouldn’t you miss your home even more?

At this time, no one dared to demolish the Taiwan Strait. Zhu Di said: "Now the government army relies on the surrounding county towns to provide assistance. Where can tens of thousands of people have enough food? Once we cross the river, our army's morale was slack, and the thieves' food and salary have reached the Huai River, which is not far away. If the enemy is provided with sufficient food and grass, and the army's strength will revive, our army will find it difficult to fight with it for a long time. Now we should take advantage of the fatigue of the other party and cut off the food route, so we can sit in a trap and bend without fighting."

Finally, Zhu Di emphasized: "Our army goes deeper and profits are already on my side. We must slow down and accept the thief as a plan."

At this time, everyone came back to the scene. It was a taboo for military tactics alone, but the prince insisted that the situation was favorable. How could it be possible? Everyone led their troops to fight tough battles for three years. Even if they didn't know a big word, they could already understand the military tactics without a master.

Seeing this, Zhu Neng and Zhang Yu stood up to support Zhu Di's opinion. When the generals saw that the two of them agreed with the prince, they stopped talking even if they disagreed.

The victory or defeat of the war is often in an instant, and food and salary are undoubtedly the lifeblood of the army. Zhu Di sent several powerful generals to cut off the official army's food routes and disperse the official army's forces.

If Sheng Yong wanted to transfer his troops to receive food and grass, Zhu Di would personally lead a large army to follow him. During the day, he ordered a cavalry to disturb the official army's woodcutting and train warriors to attack the camp at night, so that the official army could not rest and were forced to divide the troops to protect the food. Why wasn't the Yan army tired?

Zhu Di did not remove his armor for more than a month, and he looked like a savage, but this made him look more friendly and the soldiers felt that they continued to persevere.

On April 25, the official army slowly moved to Lingbi and joined Chen Hui's 20,000 northwestern cavalry, hoping to drag down the Yan army with a protracted battle.

At this time, the court sent 50,000 stones of food and grass and 300,000 taels of military salary. He ordered the governor Chen Yu to lead 60,000 cavalry and escort along the way.
Chapter completed!