Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 364: The Dogs Go Out to Fight
"Directly into the Gulf of Siam?"
"Yes, going south first and east later is the national policy. The emperor's meaning is very clear. It won't hurt anyone if you stretch out two fists at the same time. Before the King of Siam surrenders, our dynasty will temporarily be on the defensive against the Japanese pirates."
"Hmm..." While Zhao Lujiao was thinking, Sun Chuanting had already walked out. After a while, he came in with a map of the South China Sea.
"Captain Xu, since it's the Emperor's order, we, as his subjects, should carry it out. But, what about the transport capacity? You have to know that from Fujian to Taiwan, which is such a short distance, it took General Yan's fleet several round to transport our Third Army. And because the distance is short, there is basically no need to reserve much space on the ship for food and other supplies."
"General Zhao, don't worry about that. The imperial court has mobilized all the merchants of our Ming Dynasty, ah, all the members of the war fund, to contribute their cargo ships. Before I came here, thousands of large cargo ships ranging from 300 tons to 1,000 tons had already gathered in Tianjin . After they are loaded onto the fourth and seventh towns, they will come to Taipei to pick you up."
"The fourth and seventh regiments? Your Majesty is going to use half of the new army to fight Siam? No, add Liu Zhaosun's three regiments to surround Saigon . Eight of the ten new regiments were deployed on the southern front."
"Even a lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit. Your Majesty is right to do this. General Zhao must not underestimate the enemy."
"Grandmaster Sun is right. The emperor said the same thing. Even a lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit."
"No, no." Zhao Lujiao waved his hands quickly: "I am not questioning the emperor's wrongdoing, but... I am ashamed to command five towns this time, and I feel..."
"General Zhao, don't worry." After saying this, Xu Xianchun lowered his voice: "The emperor said that he will come in person for the later stages of the war!"
"This!" Not only Zhao Lujiao, but also Sun Chuanting was stunned.
What's going on? Since Emperor Wuzong, there hasn't been an emperor in the Ming Dynasty who has personally led an army for more than a hundred years. This emperor has just ascended the throne, and the reign title hasn't even been changed yet, yet he wants to lead the army in person?
However, it seems that the emperor personally led the army to destroy the Jurchens when he was the grandson of the emperor. Moreover, he had been the regent for many years before he ascended the throne, so there was no problem of stabilizing the power structure. So, it seems that leading the army in person is not a big deal?
So after a brief moment of shock, Sun Chuanting said nothing more, and Zhao Lujiao breathed a sigh of relief: directly controlling half of the country's ten most powerful towns, he Zhao Lujiao asked himself if he was not the emperor's favorite general. If he really did this, he was afraid that his future life would be very difficult.
Now it's all right. The emperor can lead the army himself. I just need to act as his advisor.
"Captain Xu, I understand this matter now. I will go down and ask the whole army to make relevant preparations before boarding the ship. Please rest assured, my three commanders have spent more than half of their time in Taiwan in the past two months either on the ship or in the water. They have already vomited all the vomit they need to vomit. Therefore, they will not get seasick ."
"That's good, General Zhao. I won't hide it from you. If we really want to land in the Gulf of Siam, at least in the early stages, you shouldn't consider the combat effectiveness of the Fourth and Seventh Towns."
"Hahahaha, I understand."
"Well, then what's next?" Xu Xianchun also looked at the map that Sun Chuanting brought in. His finger started from Taiwan and moved slowly.
"I have just said that thanks to the help of many loyal and patriotic merchants in the Ming Dynasty, there is no need to worry about the transportation capacity. As for the escort, Commander Li Guozhu will lead 22 first-class warships and 40 second-class warships to escort us. This route will first go from Taiwan to Hainan, and then go south along the coastline of Annan. After bypassing the southern tip of the Indochina Peninsula, we will no longer go north, but directly cross the Gulf of Siam and sail directly to Prachuap Khiri Khan in Siam!"
"Pashu? There is a place called Pashu in Siam?"
"Hahaha, yes, General Zhao. When I was hiding in Siam, I was also a little surprised by this. But Bashu is a transliteration. In the mouth of the Siamese, it is called Prachuap Khiri Khan. The reason why we chose to land here is because next to this place is the Mon settlement in Myanmar."
"Well……"
"What does Governor Sun have to say?"
"Captain, I used to read Chang'an Daily as well. During the more than two years I served as the magistrate of Daxing, I never missed a single day of the Yanjing Daily. Didn't the newspaper say that the Mon people were always at war with the Burmese? And we are allies with the Burmese now, right?"
"There's something wrong with what Governor Sun said." Xu Xianchun shook his head gently: "My Great Ming has no allies, or rather, the Burmese are not qualified to be my Great Ming's allies."
"Yes, I made a mistake."
After waving his hands to show that he didn't care about the issue, Xu Xianchun said, "The Mon people live in the mountains and have always wanted to establish their own country in the Irrawaddy River Plain, where the Burmese live, so they are at odds with the Burmese. But the Yunnan Governor Chen Shiji sneaked into the Mon settlement area some time ago and has negotiated with the local leaders. As long as the Mon people are willing to send troops to fight against Siam with us, after Siam is destroyed, our Ming Dynasty will give them a piece of Siamese land as compensation. So this time, the Mon people are willing to devote all their strength to serve our Ming Dynasty."
"Hiss~ Chen Zhijun is really an operator!"
"Haha, we are deeply indebted to the Emperor. We have to risk our lives to repay even a fraction of the Emperor's kindness."
"Qianhu is absolutely right!"
"Yes." After nodding, Xu Xianchun said: "The specific battle sequence is: before the end of May this year, our Ming troops in Saigon will drive the Annan troops to launch a powerful attack on Saigon Port. Although in our opinion, Saigon has already been abandoned by Siam, but we must let the King of Siam misjudge that our Ming is preparing to slowly knock down Saigon, Phnom Penh, and other fortresses one by one.
In addition, demonstrating the strength of our army in Saigon will also make it easier for us to intimidate the various vassal states in Annan and make it easier for the Ming Dynasty to deploy troops and control ports in Annan in the future.
Next, no matter what Siam does in response, the Sichuan Town, Yunnan and Guizhou and other garrisons of our Ming Dynasty will join the Burmese army to launch a western offensive in mid-June this year. Chen Zhijun has already warned the Burmese king that if the Burmese army flees again, our Ming Dynasty will have to consider whether the current Burmese king should abdicate to his prince. "
"Hahaha, if that's the case, I'm afraid the Burmese king's sons will risk their lives to bribe Chen Zhijun, right?"
"I'm not sure about this." After spreading his hands with a smile, Xu Xianchun pointed to the northeast of Bangkok: "Next, when Siam's main force in the west is tied down, Nanzhang, that is, the Lao Xuanwei Division of our Ming Dynasty, will send 10,000 troops to attack Nong Khai Province in the northeast of Siam. The Mon people will send 50,000 soldiers to attack their Kanchanaburi Province with all their strength. Kanchanaburi Province is north of Prachuap Khiri Province and very close to Bangkok. The Siamese people will have no choice but to respond with all their strength."
"Then our army will land in Prachuap Khiri Khan and then march straight to Bangkok?"
"That's right!"
"Hmm." Stroking his chin and thinking for a long time, Zhao Lujiao said: "Captain Xu, why can't we land directly in Bangkok? Even if Bangkok has fortress artillery, what about the two prefectures next to it? Aren't they much closer than Bashu Prefecture?"
"Haha, let General Zhao know. According to the intelligence sent by my spy in Siam, not long after the decisive battle in the East China Sea in February, the Siamese began to build a large number of small gunpowder ships in the Bangkok shipyard. If we sail directly to Bangkok, we may end up in a sea of fire."
"I see. Then there will be no doubt."
"I have the Emperor's oral instructions to relay."
"Please give your instructions, Master."
"The Emperor said that Rajabudu is a great leader, and his talent is far superior to that of his father Naresuan. Naresuan was able to lead his people to restore the country after the country was destroyed. If this Rajabudu escapes from this battle, then our Ming Dynasty will not have peace in the south in the future. Therefore, in this battle, Rajabudu must be found alive or dead. His importance ranks above Bangkok and even the entire Siam!"
"I understand. Please ask Captain Xu to report to the emperor. I will make all preparations and capture the enemy chieftain in one battle once the emperor arrives at the battle line!"
