Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1058 Hu Ji's Big Gamble
"Fortunately, Hu Cang still has some brains left."

On the tower, seeing the Hu army slowly retreating, Zhu Su turned around and smiled at the generals. "If this guy insists on fighting us to the death, I will be at a loss as to what to do."

"It's rare that a war has come to this point, and they've gone to great lengths to protect the enemy." Li Jinglong said jokingly. "If it weren't for this, why would Fifth Uncle be so restrained? He would have wiped out all of these Annan monkeys in one fell swoop!"

All the generals laughed along. To be honest, with more than 10,000 people surrounding this city with only 2,000 soldiers stationed, many generals in the city were actually still worried. Under such a disadvantage in military strength, His Royal Highness the King of Zhou actually set a strategic goal of not only repelling the enemy but also ensuring that they did not suffer too much loss.

While fighting, they also had to find ways to protect the enemy. These Ming generals had never fought such a strange war before.

Fortunately, the hot air balloon attack last night finally succeeded in scaring Hu Cang away from the city. Otherwise, the Ming army would be at a loss. The generals said that they had never fought a battle so restricted.

"War is the continuation of politics. It is not difficult to defeat Hu Cang, but we need to always remember that what we need is not to defeat the Hu family, but to eventually recover Annan. For this purpose, retaining strength for the Hu family to deal with the Nguyen family is the top priority." Zhu Su said.

In fact, in his plan, if the two thousand Ming troops could not resist the Hu family, even Wuqu Port could be abandoned.

Even if we allow the Hu family to invade Wuqu and plunder those Annan merchants, we must ensure that the Hu family's army is fully organized... At worst, they can set sail for the sea, and then the Ming Dynasty can increase its support for Nguyen Duofang, so that he and Hu Jinluo will be in a tug-of-war.

The Ming Dynasty had to become an invisible big hand, forcing Hu Jintao and Nguyen Duo to fight each other to death, so as to pry up the deep-rooted aristocratic foundation of Annan.

Afterwards, there was an opportunity to support the lower classes of the poor who had lost their chance to advance and target the nobles, to turn Annan upside down from bottom to top, and finally the Ming Dynasty would come down like a miracle and decide the outcome in the name of justice.

"Your Highness, we have spent so much effort to ensure the safety of Hu's army. When Hu Cang comes to his senses, he will definitely doubt our purpose." Sanbao thought for a long time and said to Zhu Su.

"Hu Jin'er is not stupid. If he thinks about it for a while, he will understand that the Ming Dynasty wants him to fight with Hu Jin'er and both of them will suffer losses, so that we can reap the benefits."

"In this case, if the Hu family and the Ruan family form an alliance and join forces to fight against the Ming Dynasty, how should we respond?"

Upon hearing this, all the generals turned their eyes to Zhu Su. This was indeed their concern.

If the Hu family and the Ruan family unite, His Royal Highness Prince Zhou will probably end up losing more than he gains after planning for so long.

"No problem." Zhu Su unfolded his folding fan and gently waved it. "The Hu family and the Ruan family are already at loggerheads. Even if they knew that the Ming Dynasty was waiting behind the scenes, the old grudges would make it impossible for them to make peace."

"The Hu family wants to secede from Annan and become a local emperor. The Nguyen family wants to take advantage of the situation and rise to dominate Annan like the Hu family... Even if the Hu family wants to make peace with the Nguyen family, the Nguyen family will not agree. If he negotiates with a 'rebel', he will lose the righteousness of raising an army to 'avenge the Tran family'."

Sanbao thought about it and nodded: "If there is no righteousness, the Nguyen family will never rise again in the future. For the Nguyen family, the Ming Dynasty is only a long-term concern, while the Hu family is a short-term concern. The same is true for the Hu family..."

"Yes, it is better to worry about the present than the future. Even if Hu Jinyi knows that our Ming Dynasty is planning to hide behind and take advantage, what can he do?" Zhu Su sneered.

"From the moment he became so mad that he murdered his master and usurped the throne, there was no turning back for him."

Zhu Su said, "Hu Jinyi is just a stone thrown by the Ming Dynasty to test the waters."

Now, instead of worrying about the Nguyen and Hu families, Zhu Su was even more concerned about whether Le Loi would escape the control of the Ming Dynasty.

After all, people are never satisfied and their desires are hard to satisfy. If Le Loi found out that the so-called nobles’ authority was just paper authority, would he have other ideas and want to occupy this chaotic land himself?

……

"You have more than 18,000 people, but you failed to capture a small Wuqu City?" Hu Jinli sat high on the golden palace, his eyes narrowed, and endless anger was contained in his eye slits.

"Father...Father, it's not that I'm lazy." Hu Cang knelt under the golden palace, sweat on his head. "It's really, it's really those Ming soldiers, they..."

He thought about the wording for a long time, but couldn't think of any words to describe the horror of the Ming Dynasty's city defense fortifications.

"...They are like an impenetrable tortoise shell. It is simply an impossible task to break into Wuqu City in a short period of time."

"They also have something that can fly in the sky, dropping gunpowder and kerosene in the sky. We can only let them slaughter us... My central army tent was burned down by the Ming army among thousands of soldiers. If the child was not in the tent at that time, I would have almost died in the sea of ​​fire that day!"

The ministers of Annan were discussing the issue. Hu Jinyi became more and more impatient as he listened. Finally, he slammed the table and shouted, "Enough!"

There was a sudden silence in the Golden Palace.

"The flying balloons of the Ming army are subject to many restrictions such as weather and wind direction, so there is no need to worry." Hu Jinyi obviously knew that the Ming army had hot air balloons. "Just hide the central army and don't be afraid. You are scared by the Ming army..."

After thinking about it, even if they were not scared back by the Ming army, they would not be able to capture Wuqu Port. Moreover, even if Hu Cang did not withdraw his troops, he would have to send people to call the army back. Hu Jizhen sighed and said, "Forget it, I won't blame you this time."

"I will personally lead the army to fight. I will allow you to make up for your crime and serve under me."

"The emperor leads the army in person?" Hu Cang was stunned. "Did the Ruan family send troops?"

"Yes." Hu Jinyi nodded, with a lingering sadness on his face. "Fifteen days ago, Ruan issued a manifesto, claiming that the descendants of the Chen family were in his place, and appointed him as the general to suppress the rebellion and to fight against us."

"The Nguyen family is so crazy that they have created all kinds of excuses and pretended to be righteous. Our Dayu has accepted the abdication of Dai Viet, so how can we talk about suppressing rebellion? Once your majesty's royal army arrives, Nguyen's various troops will surely scatter!" Immediately, a minister stepped forward and said.

"Nguyen Duofang has evil intentions and is using the Chen family's name to commit treason. Your Majesty is following the will of heaven and the people. How can Nguyen Duofang be worthy of this?"

"The Ruan family is nothing but a bunch of chickens and clay dogs. Once our Dayu soldiers arrive, the Ruan family can be destroyed in a snap!"

The ministers came forward one after another to express their positions.

"I know that all of you are loyal people," Hu Jin said. With the flood of flattery from below, he was also a little happy.

"All departments should make preparations. Three days later, all of you will follow me to lead the army to defeat the Nguyen bandits!" Hu Jinyi said, waving his hand.

This was his last big gamble. He was betting everything.

(End of this chapter)