Zhu Youlang really didn’t have time to hold him accountable because Geng Zhongming came too quickly.

The next morning, Chen Jitai came to report in a hurry: "Your Majesty, Geng Zhongming has arrived at Niuting Mountain!"

"It's coming so fast. What's going on in the west?" Zhu Youlang's eyes lit up, and the battle was about to begin, and he suddenly became excited.

"Kong Youde's entire army came to attack, and the front army had arrived in Yangshuo."

"Okay, pass the order, follow the original plan!"

...

Near noon, Geng Jimao, the son of the Qing army van Geng Zhongming, led 3,000 troops from the headquarters to Qilin Ridge east of Wushi Mountain.

"Wow..." Geng Jimao pulled his silk reins and stopped the horse on the side of the road. As soon as he stopped, the whole team stopped.

"Shaozong, send someone to inquire, how far is it from the Ming army?" Geng Jimao asked Deputy General Chen Shaozong.

"Oh." Chen Shaozong immediately bowed his hand and took the order forward.

Geng Jimao got off his horse, found a stone on the side of the road and sat down. His personal soldiers handed a gourd. Geng Jimao took it and drank it for two drinks, looking at the mountains on both sides.

"My Lord, Wushi Mountain is five miles ahead, and the Ming army marched on the official road west of Wushi Mountain." After a moment, Chen Shaozong returned.

"Okay, send the order to eat some dry food and drink some water, and launch an attack in a quarter of an hour." Geng Jimao ordered.

"Yeah!" The personal soldiers rode on horseback and sent orders.

"My Lord, Wushi Mountain is high and steep. Will the Ming army set up an ambush on this mountain? I think you should wait for the first-class team?" Chen Shaozong suggested.

"Haha, Shaozong, why are you braver as you fight? There are so many mountains along the way, where can the Ming army be ambushed? Will you just ambush on Wushi Mountain? Besides, you don't know what kind of Ming army is. If Zhu Youlang heard the news of the fall of the whole province, he would have been scared to death. There were only more than 10,000 soldiers in total. I was unstoppable with three thousand iron cavalry, and I was harassed by the power of great victory. Even if there is an ambush, what's the fear?" Geng Jimao bit a piece of cooked beef while sneering at Chen Shaozong.

"Master, Zhu Youlang is the best at using troops to make use of geographical advantages, so he must be careful. If he uses our mentality of underestimating the enemy, tempts me to go deeper and sets up an ambush in Wushi Mountain, there is no need to face our army. The big stones on the mountain are enough for us to drink a pot." Chen Shaozong was still a little worried and advised him again.

"Well?"

Geng Jimao stopped the biting action in his mouth when he heard this, looked up at the mountains on both sides, and said, "Look at this mountain, it is mostly gentle slopes, and the stones cannot roll down."

"No, Prince, Wushi Mountain is different from this place, mostly steep slopes."

"...Step slope? That's another matter." When Geng Jimao heard this, he felt that Chen Shaozong's concerns were not unreasonable.

However, he soon dispelled his doubts.

"Shaozong, let's take a gamble. My father is the pioneer. Don't you know the deep meaning? I heard that Shang Zhixin is not happy. If it weren't for King Zhishun, he would almost turn against my father. Could it be that such a great contribution to Shang Zhixin?"

When Chen Shaozong heard this, he remained silent. Shang Zhixin followed closely behind him, clearly trying to compete for merit with Geng Jimao. It was reasonable that the prince refused to share such a large piece of fat meat with him.

But, this piece of fat is really so delicious? Are you not afraid of choking? Zhu Youlang is so incompetent?

However, although he was still a little worried, he didn't say anything more.

Besides, it’s not just a war, it’s a matter of delaying the prince’s great achievements. Who dares to stop this?

In fact, Chen Shaozong failed to fully understand Geng Jimao's urgent thoughts.

Geng Zhongming had thirty-seven sons, and Geng Jimao was the eldest. Although he was the eldest and the legitimate son, he was not officially appointed as the crown prince because Geng Zhongming preferred to be the second son and always wanted to make his second brother the crown prince. However, because his reputation was not justified, he never submitted a memorial to ask for the crown prince.

Geng Jimao knew this very well. In order to fight for the position of the prince, he and his second brother have been fighting openly and secretly, and no one can do anything to each other. Now, the great achievements of capturing Zhu Youlang are right in front of him. As long as he gets this skill, the position of the prince will basically be stable. Even if his father does not establish himself, Prince Rui will not let him go.

...

Geng Jimao's in-depth information was quickly reported to Zhu Youlang. Zhu Youlang heard the news and felt deficient. He reconciled the ministers in the account and said, "Oh, there are only three thousand people, and there are a little fewer."

"Your Majesty, there are not many three thousand people, but there is Geng Zhongming's eldest son Geng Jimao. Capturing him may be useful." Chen Zizhuang said.

"A mere Geng Jimao is not enough to pay my 60,000 army! Geng Zhongming has thirty-seven sons, and one less can't touch his heart." Zhu Youlang said.

"Your Majesty, you will win the first battle. Three thousand people are a little short, just for the sacrifice of the flag!" Huang Zongxi said with a bow.

"This is reasonable. Forget it, just take these three thousand people to sacrifice the flag. Yang Yuan and Li Yong!"

"I'm here!"

"I originally wanted to have a big fish in the net, but a loach came. You two serve Master Geng well and don't let Master Geng down!"

"Abide by the order!" Yang and Li replied loudly.

"Your Majesty, is Geng Jimao going to live or die?" Li Yong asked carefully and carefully.

"It is better if you can capture it alive. According to Ji Sheng's words, it may be useful. However, don't tie your hands and feet for this. If you hurt your soldiers because of using him, it will be more than worth the loss." Zhu Youlang said.

"Receive the order!"

Yang Yuan and Li Yong went down.

After a night of rest, He Tengjiao, Kuang Xia, Li Guo and others had recovered their strength and came to the imperial tent to obey the orders. After listening to the conversation between the emperor and Chen Zizhuang and Huang Zongxi, they thought to themselves: "Where did the emperor get such a great courage? Is the three thousand soldiers still missing? Geng Zhongming, how many people are there in total? You must know that the Qing soldiers are brave enough, it would be good to be able to successfully take them down, but Is it too little?"

When he heard the conversation between the emperor and Li Yong, he did not take Geng Jimao much seriously. It seemed that the life of his soldiers was more worthy of cherishing than the son of the prince of the Qing court. When he first arrived, the emperor spoke the first sentence, without asking about the loss, and asking Yang Guodong's safety first, and couldn't help but sigh: "It's a blessing for a subject to meet the emperor who cherishes his subordinates like this."

"Let's go outside the tent to watch the battle." Zhu Youlang said.

The ministers all had this intention. Among them, Huang Zongxi, the only one who had seen the power of grenades. The others had only heard of it, and no one had seen it. In the end, the grenades and mines were so powerful that they all wanted to see them in person. Like Chen Kuangxia, Li Guo and others, they even wanted to see how the imperial guards fought. Therefore, when they heard the emperor's order, they all happily followed them out.

Bai Xing asked the guards to bring chairs and put them under a tree. The place is high and the view is wide, and the situation at the foot of the mountain can be seen at a glance. Zhu Youlang sat down, and the ministers stood behind him, looking around on the Dongfangshan Road, quietly waiting for the war to come.
Chapter completed!