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Xing'an Province.

Li Dingguo was leading his troops towards here, and the sentinels sent by Zheng Zhi also detected the movements of the Datong Army from a distance.

Zheng Jie urgently recalled the soldiers who had gone out to collect food to Xing'an Fucheng and said to his son: "In half a month at most, the typhoon is coming. Even if there is no typhoon, it will be hot and rainy, and these Han soldiers will not be able to withstand it. Hold on to Xing'an City and wait until it rains before attacking. By then, the Han soldiers' firearms will be useless."

Zheng Zha asked doubtfully: "Our army does not have enough food and grass. Even if we collect food, we will not be able to last for a long time. Shouldn't we fight quickly?"

"I have ordered the entire army to reduce meals. It will be no problem to sustain it for two or three months," Zheng Jie said. "The Han soldiers are all elites, but most of us are country warriors. We will suffer a lot in the prowl outside the city. It is more important for us to defend the city." It's beneficial. As long as we delay, it will be hot and humid by then, and the Han soldiers coming from the north will definitely get sick."

Vietnam's territory is long and spans many latitudes, so the climate is very complex.

Like the Red River Delta that is currently at war, the four seasons are relatively distinct, but it is relatively hot all year round. In summer, there are more typhoons and rainfall increases significantly. It is hot and humid and it is easy to get sick.

The rainy season in the true sense is actually on Ruan's territory, and it is in the south of Ruan's territory. There is drought for half the year and continuous rainfall for half the year.

If you fight in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh and other areas, even if there are no typhoons, it will be particularly uncomfortable in summer because the "Lao wind" will blow. In fact, it is a kind of Foehn wind effect. The reason why Chongqing is called the furnace is because Foehn wind always blows in summer.

In a word, if time continues to drag on, the Chinese army will definitely experience a large number of non-combat attrition.

Zheng Zha nodded and said, "I understand."

Zheng Jie added: "Our army is holding fast to Xing'an City. If the Han soldiers cannot attack it for a long time, they will probably go north to attack Taiping Mansion. There are not enough defenders in Taiping City. If you take 10,000 people there, even if they die in the city, they will be killed." Taiping is being held, and Han soldiers must not be allowed to cross Taiping and go to Shenglong Mansion!"

Zheng Zha immediately went to count his troops and planned to lead his troops to garrison in Taiping Mansion.

The Red River has a tributary called Taiping River. The two rivers meet near Xing'an City. You can reach Taipingfu City by following the Taiping River.

When the Ming Dynasty conquered Annan, the Annan monarchs and ministers abandoned the capital and fled along the Red River to Xing'an City, and then along the Taiping River to the sea. During this period, the Ming army caught up and fought, annihilating tens of thousands of Annan troops in a land and water battle.

Before Zheng Zha led his troops to leave Xing'an, more than ten people fled in embarrassment to report the news.

"Why are you here?" Zheng Zhi asked.

The person who came was Zheng Zhi's housekeeper. He lay on the ground and cried loudly: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid Shenglong Mansion is gone! Mo's dog thief raised tens of thousands of troops to attack the capital. The noble officials in the city fled overnight, but were killed by the dog thief on the way. Ambush. The villain...the villain jumped into the river to escape, and he was lucky enough to survive. After running for dozens of miles, he finally met the prince!"

This news shocked Zheng Zhi to the point of freezing his whole body, and then he said incompetently and furiously: "How can someone named Mo have an army of tens of thousands? He can only have thousands if he can survive!"

It takes time to gather an army to go on an expedition. As long as the confidentiality work is done well, even if there are only 500 Taiyuan City defenders left, they can completely hold off the Mo family's army for two or three months. Who would have thought that Taiyuan was like a sieve. On the day the garrison was transferred, someone would run to notify Mo Jingyu.

But Mo Jingyu didn't wait for his troops to gather together, so he ordered to summon a large army and led two thousand people to attack the town.

Zheng Zha also got the news in the military camp and ran back quickly: "Father, do you still want to keep peace?"

"What a fool!" Zheng Zhi was so angry that he wanted to vomit blood.

To their south is Li Dingguo's army, and to the north is Shenglong Mansion, which was captured by the Mo family. If they continue to hold on, they will be attacked from both sides.

But if you don't hold on, where can you escape?

Take a boat along the Taiping River to the sea? The typhoon is approaching. If we escape to the sea at this time, it is very likely that the whole family will capsize and feed the fish. Even if you don't encounter a typhoon, you may encounter the Datong Navy!

There was only one choice left for them. Zheng Zha asked: "Go to Ailao Mountain?"

Zheng Jing clenched his fist and said: "When the Mo family usurped power, Emperor Li also patrolled Ailao, and only then did I, the Zheng family, revive the Li Dynasty. The whole army immediately set off and marched westward into the Ailao Mountains. From now on, we will fight back to Thang Long Palace!"

The Ailao Mountain here is not the Ailao Mountain in Yunnan, but generally refers to the large mountainous area at the junction of Laos, Vietnam, and China.

There was once a Ailao State, which arose in the middle and upper reaches of the Lancang and Nu Rivers. It was a country established by the Dai tribe. Ailao Kingdom is also called Mengzhang Kingdom and Chengxiang Kingdom. The word Ailao is a transliteration, which probably means "big brother". It is the honorific title given to the king by the leaders of various ministries.

A hundred years ago, Mo Dengyong usurped the government of Annan. The ancestors of the Zheng family and the Ruan family fled into the Ailao Mountains with a bunch of old officials, but they did not know where to find clan members to support them. Only then did we get through the most difficult years and gain time for the country to recover later.

Now that Zheng Zhi was in a desperate situation, he immediately thought of his ancestors and decided to flee into the mountains to hide for a few years.

In the afternoon of that day, Zheng Zhi led tens of thousands of troops, carrying only food and gold and silver, and evacuated towards the western mountainous area as quickly as possible.

These guys left on the front foot, Datong in the city made careful preparations, and rushed downstream to report the news.

"stop!"

Xi Zuo encountered Li Dingguo's vanguard troops on the way. He said in Chinese: "I am one of you, act cautiously and don't bring a belt. Tell General Li quickly that Zheng Jie fled westward, probably to enter the mountains. Shenglong Mansion There are also people who have fled, and the Mo family is besieging Shenglong Mansion!"

Li Dingguo soon learned the news and ordered: "Pursue at full speed, do not allow the enemy to escape into the mountains!"

The ships carried armor, artillery and food, and the soldiers only held weapons in their hands, running along the river under the scorching sun in a weather of nearly 30 degrees Celsius. Fortunately, an official road was built along the river, and the cavalry could run along the official road. Otherwise, there would be paddy fields everywhere, and the cavalry would probably have to abandon their horses and pursue them.

When they rushed to Xing'an City, Li Dingguo successfully took over the city, leaving only a few hundred men to guard the city, while the rest of the soldiers crossed the river and continued to pursue westward.

Moreover, there is no river for the rest of the journey, so the soldiers have to carry food, armor, and weapons themselves.

I saw thousands of Datong soldiers jogging shirtless on the rural field ridges. The cotton armor was packed and carried on the back, and the spears, muskets, and waist knives were placed horizontally and bundled on the cotton armor. Under the scorching sun, everyone was sweating all over, as if they had just been fished out of the water.

All the cavalry horses were left in Xing'an City, and they were temporarily converted to infantry marches - there were no official roads, paddy fields were everywhere, and the horses moved very slowly.

As for food, each soldier only brought three days' worth of dry food, and a kettle with cold boiled water around his waist.

It was also very hot after nightfall. Zheng Jie's soldiers complained one after another, and the civilian men carrying the baggage were even more hot and tired.

Zheng Zhi, who was very old and couldn't bear it anymore, ordered: "The whole army rests where it is, and is not allowed to wander around. We will continue on our way after dawn!"

Together with the civilians and local braves, the army totaled tens of thousands and stopped in the fields. Not to mention the formations, the chaos stretched for several miles, and it took a long time to convey military orders.

Zheng Jie felt that he was safe. The Han soldiers were still far away and could not fly over to attack him.

Officers from various ministries ordered their soldiers to collect weeds and burn them to fumigate away mosquitoes. They are all weeds such as mugwort and mugwort, which can be found everywhere in the wild. Farmers rely on them to repel mosquitoes.

For a while, the fields were filled with thick smoke, and the smell of rice came from time to time.

Just as the meal was starting, there was a strange movement from behind the troops, followed by another cry of killing.

Zheng Zhuo, covered in blood, came to report: "Father, a gentry has escaped with a country hero, and the child has been suppressed! Elite guards have been arranged everywhere. Anyone who dares to desert will never see the sun tomorrow!"

Deserters are normal.

More than 70% of these tens of thousands of troops are civilians and local warriors. The generals of the Xiangyong troops are all diligent gentry from all over the country.

It's okay to ask the gentry to recruit soldiers to serve the king, but to ask them to abandon their family property and go into the mountains and hide for who knows how many years, that is simply more uncomfortable than killing them.

Zheng Jie expressed appreciation for his son's quick response. After a few words of praise, he ordered: "All the soldiers are men. I don't know how many years they will stay in the mountains. No woman will do anything bad. Before entering the mountains, sweep the villages outside the mountains." , all the women were captured and assigned to the soldiers as wives."

Zheng Jie thought for a while and said: "To prevent the soldiers from escaping, I will go and pass the order now. Tell them that they can rob along the way tomorrow, but each person is only allowed to rob one woman. Taking too many is not conducive to a fast march."

With this approach, the Datong Army did not have to march in a hurry and could catch up at normal speed.

Zheng Zha immediately sent an order to the entire army. He heard that they could plunder along the way, and their morale recovered slightly. Especially those bachelors in the army were even excited because they could steal their wives right away. They even made up their minds to rob the landlord’s young lady, and they would not accept any ugly ones!

Zheng Jie said to his son: "When the Mo family usurped power, our ancestors also led tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians into the mountains. After thirteen years of hard work, they finally achieved great success! Don't be discouraged. Our ancestors could hibernate in the mountains for thirteen years, and we can do it again." Thirteen years. As long as we seize the opportunity, we will be able to restore our country!"

"Kid, remember this!" Zheng Zha was inspired by a few words.

In fact, it was Ruan Gan, the ancestor of the Ruan family, who led the soldiers and civilians into the mountain. The ancestor of the Zheng family, Zheng Jian, came to seek refuge halfway and made his fortune by being Ruan Gan's son-in-law.

They didn't work hard in the mountains for thirteen years, but they were a coward for thirteen years.

In the end, the country was able to recover because Mo Dengyong angered Emperor Jiajing, and the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty had already reached Zhennanguan. Mo Dengyong was so frightened that he wet his pants and personally led his ministers to Zhennanguan to plead guilty to the Ming army and ask for surrender.

The ancestors of the Nguyen and Trinh families seized the opportunity to send troops and took advantage of the opportunity to recapture Nghe An and Thanh Hoa. He also relied on the power of the gentry in Nghe An and Thanh Hoa to recruit a peasant army for the northern expedition, and finally recaptured Thang Long House.

After the restoration of the country, the Ruan family and the Zheng family had a falling out. The Zheng family also tried to usurp power, and the Ruan family fled to the south to establish a separatist regime.

Of course, in the Zheng family's propaganda, the Ruan family is the rebel, and the restoration of the country depends entirely on the Zheng family.

At night, Zheng Zhi didn't sleep well and was worried about the future development.

Suddenly there was a cry of killing, and Zheng Zhi woke up suddenly.

Zheng Zha came over with his own soldiers and said anxiously: "Father, leave quickly, Han soldiers are coming to kill us!"

Zheng Jie was surprised and said: "How come it's so fast? Can Han soldiers fly?"