"Your Majesty, I received the war report. The main force of King Ning has gathered in Hukou. At the same time, a large number of ships appeared in Xingzi Port, the key pass of the Poyang Lake waterway. It seems that the rebel naval forces are ready to enter the Yangtze River at any time and will soon fight with our army... It is very likely that the rebels of King Ning know that His Majesty is stationed here and are ready to fight to the death."

Zhang Yuan was unwilling to continue to entangle the sensitive topic of whether Chen Xi had seen Princess Jutan, so he quickly told the main purpose of coming to see him today.

Zhu Houzhao changed color suddenly: "If you can't choose words and sentences, don't use them... What does it mean to break the net when you die? Do you think I am a fish or a net?"

Zhang Yuan quickly changed his words: "It was my old slave's fault, it should be said that King Ning was desperate to jump over the wall."

Zhu Houzhao nodded with satisfaction: "That's right... King Ni wants to lead the army to fight me while I have not yet established a stable foothold... Oh, wait, the information you investigated is reliable? Why haven't I heard this news from other places?"

Zhang Yuan said: "This is information from the Jiangxi area. Please read it with Your Majesty."

After Xiao Tiaozi delivered the information handed over by Zhang Yuan to Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Houzhao looked carefully and realized that what Zhang Yuan said was not false.

Although Zhu Houzhao trusts Jiang Bin very much, Jiang Bin's official position is currently the commander of the imperial guards and his official rank is not high. In terms of collecting intelligence, Jiang Bin needs to rely on his own people to investigate, and then he will make a mistake in front of the emperor and get away with it.

Zhang Yuan has many ways to obtain information. The information submitted by the Dongchang, Jinyiwei, local governments, etc. must be handled by Zhang Yuan, the chief supervisor of the Secretariat.

Everyone in front of Zhu Houzhao knew the opposition between Jiang Bin and Zhang Yuan, and also knew that Jiang Bin was more favored, but for the internal government and local officials, they trusted Zhang Yuan more, after all, Zhang Yuan's status was there.

After taking a look, Zhu Houzhou frowned tightly: "Why are you going to kill me suddenly? Since that's the case, then hurry up and rectify your troops and prepare to fight the thieves on the river."

Zhang Yuan was so scared that he waved his hand repeatedly: "Your Majesty, you must not!"

Zhu Houzhao asked with a dark face: "Okay, Zhang Yuan, can't I say that the navy commanded by me can't defeat the ships that King Ni had temporarily pieced together? I have an army of 300,000 in my hand."

After saying this, even Zhu Houzhao himself was not confident, but Zhang Yuan thought about it: "A total of 100,000 troops went to war, half of which were divided by Old Man Xu. It would be good if there was 50,000 troops here."

Zhang Yuan said: "Your Majesty, your dragon body is important, and you cannot be in danger... Whether you win or not is actually not important. Your Majesty has no descendants yet. If there is any deviation, what should the country and country in the Ming Dynasty do? Your Majesty is the magistrate of the Nine Five. He should plan and win thousands of miles away. This will reflect your ability comparable to a god. Why do you have to go into battle and fight against the soldiers of the King of Rebellion?"

Zhu Houzhao couldn't accept Zhang Yuan's compliment and said with a stern face: "I used to plan and do a lot of things to win thousands of miles away, so I felt bored. This time I was about to show it myself... Originally, I was the emperor in person. I heard what you meant, so I would be a turtle and retreat to the back and wait for others to fight to the death, right?"

Zhang Yuan was very anxious and had no idea how to explain to Zhu Houzhao.

Xiao Zhuozi was helping: "Your Majesty, you really can't take risks. Why not retreat to Anqing Prefecture first and send a navy army to fight the rebels depending on the specific situation... The thieves' navy must attack Nanjing, so they can only attack Anqing first. By then, your Majesty, you can command and dispatch this war without taking risks. It's really a killing two birds with one stone."

Zhu Houzhao was moved by Xiao Twist's words. After thinking for a while, he said to himself: "Yes, where am I? King Ning's soldiers must chase me where to start a war with me... I am now stationed in the wilderness and have nothing to do with it. If something unexpected happens to a head-on battle, it is really undesirable..."

"But let me withdraw to Anqing Prefecture like this, wouldn't I be disappointed? Besides, the city of Jiande, Dongliu and other cities in Chizhou Prefecture in Nanzhili will be occupied by rebel ground troops. If he ignores Anqing where I am and attacks Nanjing by land directly, wouldn't the people of the world believe that I am afraid of him?"

Zhang Yuan suggested with a frown: "Your Majesty, if you are worried that the rebels will march directly from the south bank to Nanjing, you might as well retreat to the south bank to build a defense line with Jiande and Dongliu, and use the geographical advantage to deal with the rebels."

Zhu Houzhao narrowed her eyes and began to consider the feasibility of this plan.

Xiao Guozigen disagreed and almost cried, "Your Majesty, Dongliu is just a small town along the river. The city defense is worrying, and Jiande is surrounded by mountains, and rescue is not good! What should you do if Your Majesty gets into it? Eunuch Zhang, now you should be more decisive and retreat to Anqing Prefecture City."

"Enough!"

Zhu Houzhao was very dissatisfied with the dispute between the two eunuchs, and obviously did not want to be decided by the slaves.

He felt a sense of disgust in his heart that he didn't want to listen to other people's opinions at all. This was related to his usual rule of view on Shen Xi's opinions, so that all the military achievements in the world were returned to Shen Xi.

Zhu Houzhao wanted to make judgments on his own, but now Zhang Yuan and Xiao Guozi told him the two solutions, which made him stubborn and had to come up with a third countermeasure.

But now he always knew that he had committed a military taboo in a place where he was stationed in a village without a shop and had no danger. This place was not suitable for fighting against the rebels of Ning Wang. He knew better that his on-site command and dispatch ability was incomparable to Shen Xi.

Looking back and forth, but unable to find a good countermeasure, Zhu Houzhao could only compromise first and said with a dark face: "After all, the enemy is still lingering in Hukou, it will take one or two days to get here. I will think about it first, hold a meeting tonight and study it carefully. Then I will decide whether to advance or retreat, or to attack which city."

If it were a general in the army or a civil servant with strategy and insight, he would definitely oppose Zhu Houzhao's mediocre mentality. This is a battlefield, so there is no hesitation. Now Zhu Houzhao actually said that he would hold a meeting first and study it carefully, which was simply playing with fire and burning himself.

However, no matter how high Zhang Yuan and Xiao Tuozi are in the court, they are slaves. When they found that Zhu Houzhao was not good at attitude, they had no confidence to challenge Zhu Houzhao, but just bowed and left.

This is also related to the mediocre ability of the two. In their opinion, it takes time for King Ning to send troops, and it takes at least two or three days to actually kill him. There is no need to rush for a moment. Why bother to disobey the emperor?

As a result, before the meeting time was about to be held at night, Zhang Yuan rushed over anxiously. This time he was stopped by Jiang Bin.

Because Zhang Yuan successfully met the saint during the day, Jiang Bin replaced several guards who were "ineffective in taking care of him". At night, he personally guarded the imperial tent and happened to hit Zhang Yuan head-on.

Jiang Bin sneered: "Eunuch Zhang, why are you so anxious? Your Majesty is going to hold a meeting in front of the imperial court, but the time is not yet here."

Zhang Yuan was anxious: "When is it time to have a meeting? Ning Wang's army has come here!"

Jiang Bin looked contemptuous and said lightly: "Eunuch Zhang, don't be alarmist. Ning Wanggang is preparing to send troops. This news has only arrived. How could the rebels come so quickly?"

Zhang Yuan cursed: "You slander who misleads the country and the people, don't you know the plan to build a plank road and secretly overcome Chen Cang? King Ning gathered troops at Hukou and pretended to gather ships in Xingzi. In fact, his navy had already left Poyang Lake and was invisible in the waters of the Thunder Pond. This time, his fleet suddenly appeared on the water surface of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and went downstream. A large number of cavalry appeared on the ground in the north of the Yangtze River, and were heading here on the side of the starry night... The main force of the rebels had crossed the river at some point. If he didn't leave now, he might encounter it in the middle of the night!"

Zhang Yuan mentioned the problem very seriously, but it was not enough to accept Jiang Bin. He was about to scold the other party for being alarmist, but another scout came to arraign the news, saying that the rebels had passed Qixiu Temple, twenty-five miles ahead, and were coming to the camp at high speed.

Although the Ning Wang's soldiers were hiding out at night, they now use the night to cover the marching, preparing to fight the imperial court to suppress the rebellion army, and caught him off guard. The victory or loss will be determined by a battle, but the people finally looked at the court and told the court's scouts where the Ning Wang's soldiers were hiding. The scouts quickly found clues and warned them in advance.

Jiang Bin suddenly became nervous. He knew how dangerous it was for a large army to be stationed in the wilderness of the riverside without any danger. At a glance, King Ning's troops were bound to win. He would definitely pounce on him with thunder tonight. He would do his best to avoid his edge.

Jiang Bin was not ready for a tough battle at all.

...

...

When Jiang Bin and Zhang Yuan appeared in front of Zhu Houzhao and informed the news, Zhu Houzhao frowned and showed a nervous look on her face.

Zhu Houzhao shouted sternly: "Damn it, isn't it said that Ning Wanggang gathered troops in Hukou? Why did the rebels come so soon? Or is it that the army is full of waste, and even the real intelligence cannot be investigated?"

Jiang Bin said: "Your Majesty, King Ni is too cunning. I don't know when to dispatch troops to cross the river quietly. The navy also hid in the thunder pool in advance. Now it suddenly appears, just to catch us off guard... The fog on the river has been very high these days and nights, and it is very easy to hide its traces. The scouts found clues."

Zhu Houzhao said with a stern face: "Then prepare for the battle quickly!"

"Your Majesty, don't do this!"

Zhang Yuan robbed Bai and said, "This is not a good place for a decisive battle... The terrain is too flat. If the opponent has cavalry, the assault position will be broken. Especially at night, the enemy comes from all directions, and the soldiers panic, and their combat power cannot be exerted by 10% of their normal life. If you are not careful, you will explode the camp and lose like a mountain of defeat... It is better to move to Anqing Mansion immediately."

"In short, the purpose of the rebel king's troops is to fight us in a decisive battle, hoping to turn the world around in one battle... As long as we withdraw to Anqing Mansion in time, their strategic intentions will not be realized, and we will still take the initiative as a whole."

Jiang Bin glanced at Zhang Yuan, and even if he resisted, he felt it was reasonable, so he took the initiative to help: "Your Majesty, as Eunuch Zhang said, the bandit army is at a strategic disadvantage, so he can only use this surprise weapon to use the night cover and local terrain to determine the winner and lose in one battle. If we stay here and fight with them, it will be their way... Please retreat to Anqing Prefecture in time."

Zhu Houzhao has always been very resistant to "retreat". Even if he was furious, he was not in a hurry to leave, and even thought about how to fight against Ning Wang's troops.

Zhu Houzhao asked: "Isn't Mr. Chen the best at defensive operations? The Tatar soldiers and horses were thunderous in front of the fortifications he built, from Tumu Fort to the north bank of Yuxi River, until they lost all their money... Why wouldn't it be if we weren't? You should quickly organize troops to dig trenches, set up traps and horse-rejecting horses, so that the King of Rebels knew how powerful I was!"

"this……"

Jiang Bin and Zhang Yuan looked at each other and could not handle it at all. The two were simply outsiders in commanding the battle and could not come up with the correct response.

Zhu Houzhao knew at a glance that Jiang Bin and Zhang Yuan were incompetent, and of course they might have to evade responsibility. He knew that whoever stood up to take on the important task of presiding over the overall situation would bear huge risks. If he was defeated, even if the responsibility was not on this person, he, the emperor, would attack him.

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand dejectedly: "Forget it, I know at a glance that you have not carefully studied the classic battle examples made by Mr. Chen, and you can't even do it according to your example... Now King Ning's troops are coming towards us by water and land respectively, and you do not have the ability to fight back. Even if I have ambitions, I can't do anything."

"Okay, let me give you instructions immediately, the entire army will set off the camp and board the ship, and quickly turn to Anqing Prefecture City, so as to enter Huaining County before dawn."

Zhang Yuan felt relieved and asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to set up a suspicion? Let the thieves think we are not leaving?"

Zhu Houzhao was stunned by Zhang Yuan's suggestion, and then waved his hand impatiently: "When is it now... I don't have that time to arrange for the withdrawal of troops immediately."

...

...

Even though he knew that King Ning was coming in advance, Zhu Houzhao's military order was issued in a timely manner, the preparations in the army were still worrying.

The army has been stationed by the river for several days. The order to withdraw troops was issued very suddenly. The soldiers who were urgently called to pull out the camp did not understand the real situation they are facing now, their movements are slow and deformed, and they have no sense of urgency at all.

This is also related to the lack of training in the imperial court’s soldiers!

The troops of the local inspection department who were temporarily transferred were not regular troops and were used to being lazy on weekdays. Even the troops drawn from the Seventeen Guards of the Personal Army were negligent in the training because Jiangnan inherited peace and had not been able to go through the battle formation for a long time.

The army was dispersed and the leadership was loose. When the upward movement was carried out, the soldiers were perfunctory and were very lazy from top to bottom. The officers and soldiers felt that when the imperial army had an absolute advantage, the achievements were at their fingertips, and no one was mentally prepared to fight a tough battle.

Zhu Houzhao took the lead on his boat and ordered an emergency departure. When he rode the ships of the emperor's close ministers and drove away from the temporary dock one after another, the officers and soldiers who were not anxious on the shore realized that the situation was wrong... The commander took the lead and the morale of the army was severely frustrated. Then there were rumors that Ning Wang's millions of troops were about to arrive. In a panic, he could not tell whether it was true or false. He only knew that he could be safe when he got on the boat, so the shore was in chaos.

Zhu Houzhao didn't care about these things at all. His boat rushed to the front, and he was more afraid of death than anyone else. In his opinion, since he had formulated a strategy for withdrawing troops, he could not hesitate at all, otherwise he would follow the footsteps of the Tumu Fort Incident in Yingzong. Therefore, when he advanced, Zhu Houzhao seemed to be neither anxious nor slow, but was extremely efficient when he retreated.

The subsequent ship was very embarrassed. Many soldiers lost their organization in chaos. They got on the ship and even took the opportunity to enter the cabin when they arrived. Many people were squeezed off the deck, and some people fell into the water when they boarded the ship... Many of these people could not swim, so that as soon as the retreat began, floating corpses appeared on the river.

The chaos ahead leads to panic in the subsequent people.

Originally, the ship was enough, after all, they used these ships to transport troops when they came. But now it was night and there was no systematic plan. Even the sailors on the boat didn't know how many people their ship could carry. After finding the deck was crowded with people and many strange faces, they hurriedly drove the ship away from the riverside, but they didn't know that they were only loading half of them.

In the end, there were obviously not enough ships berthed by the river. Many soldiers found that they had already boarded the ship and simply ran away from the river to the inland.

Zhu Houzhao brought 50,000 troops to fight, but there was no connection between war. With just one withdrawal, more than 10,000 were missing from the officers and soldiers under his command. Among these soldiers, there were a few casualties, and most of them became deserters. They did not flee because they were defeated, but just because they could not board the ship.

At this time, Zhu Houzhao didn't know the chaos behind him, and thought that he had a good schedule and his troops were in a good way to advance and retreat.

“…You did a good job this time transfer.”

Zhu Houzhao praised Jiang Bin, Xu Tai and others who were responsible for dispatching troops.

Jiang Bin smiled flatteringly and said, "As long as we withdraw to Huaining, Anqing Prefecture City, the bandits will have no choice but to take advantage of it... Your Majesty can relax, and the other teams will soon come to reinforce. We will defeat the King of Ni in Anqing Prefecture City, and then go up the river to capture Jiujiang Prefecture and Nankang Prefecture, head straight to Nanchang, and capture King of Ni."

Zhang Yuan was a little worried: "Your Majesty, what if the Duke of Wei is really like the rumors, and he will kill from Ningguo and Huizhou to the hinterland of Jiangxi? First, we will lose reinforcements, second, when they will defeat King Ning directly, and the credit will be theirs."

Zhu Houzhao's face suddenly felt a little unhappy: "This old guy dares not come! If this is the case, I must kill him to sacrifice the flag!"

When Zhu Houzhao made such harsh words, Zhang Yuan and Jiang Bin were both a little scared.

They thought to themselves: "It is beyond reproach that Old Man Xu was defeated and killed and apologized, but now his Majesty said that if Old Man Xu robbed the merits and wanted to kill him, how much hope is that His Majesty can personally lead the army to quell the rebellion of King Ning? In this way, how much jealous will Lord Shen be to have so much credit before?"

...

...

The ships move quickly and go downstream naturally much faster than when they come.

Zhu Houzhao didn't want to go to the deck to see the situation. As for the subsequent ships, he didn't want to know at all. As the supreme emperor, he believed that there would be someone to do the dispatch of troops, but he didn't know that he, the commander, was seriously irresponsible, and the people below didn't know what to do. The ships behind were hard to deal with, and some ships collided together and became a mess.

Fortunately, King Ning's navy did not come out at this time. Zhu Houzhao's withdrawal was very decisive this time and did not encounter any obstacles on the way.
To be continued...