Chapter 122                                                             

Generally speaking, if you win a battle, you should not pursue it and win it in one fell swoop. But Guo Deng’s reasons are also very sufficient.

First, the army was exhausted.

After six months of fierce battle, the Ming army fought with Annan almost the entire dry season. The upper and lower levels were extremely tired, and it was not that they could not fight again, it was no longer worth it.

The second is the supply of materials, or the people's hearts are exhausted.

The supply of materials in the rear is still in place, but the recruitment of a large number of civilians has also made Guangxi very tired, not to mention that Annan is still in the rainy season.

If you go south now, you will definitely be muddy and bumpy.

In addition, if the people are unacceptable, it is hard to say what happens when the time comes.

Third, it is necessary to have time to rectify Annan Prefecture.

Although this battle did not occupy many prefectures and counties in Annan, it only opened up a route of march. In fact, with Li Sicheng's retreat, the entire northern part of Annan had reached the sphere of influence of the Ming Dynasty.

It is to send people to rectify the local people's and materials to be used by the court.

To reduce the burden on the rear.

Fourth, Annan was seriously frustrated, and it was impossible for them to recover their vitality in half a year. However, when they went south to Shenglong Mansion, the most important thing was not the infantry battle, but the problem of the navy.

The Ming ship just cannot enter the Red River system from the downstream, so it can only find ways to build ships in the tributaries of the Red River or upstream to prepare for water wars.

There are some reasons to wait for this.

After Zhu Qizhen saw it, his heart was already moved.

After all, Zhu Qizhen always attaches great importance to the decision of the front-line commander, and he has no specific timetable for destroying Annan. So there is no problem one year earlier or one year later.

But he also needs to ask the cabinet's opinion.

Zhu Qizhen asked, "What do you think?"

Liu Dingzhi made a speech in advance and said, "Your Majesty, I proposed to slow down. There are some recent unscheduled dispatches. I won't say anything else. This time I reward the entire army alone is estimated to be around 3 million taels. The treasury of the surrounding provinces is already empty. If we continue to fight, we will probably transfer food from Beijing. This is not a good deal. If we wait for the first half of the year, the rice in the south will be ripe, and I can ask the nearby provinces to spend nearby, which will save a lot."

Liu Dingzhi considered it entirely from a financial perspective.

In ancient times, the amount of money, food and grass were naturally not as good as today's express freight. It was just as we said, and a large part of the food and grass consumption in the army was transported.

If transported from Beijing to Guangxi, even shipping from sea is a troublesome and the loss is considerable. If you wait for the first half of the year, the local army will be able to eat new grain from Huguang.

Just need the Ministry of Revenue to take a walk to the account, and the grain transport of Huguang will be exempted.

Even if Guo Deng can keep this in mind, and stop it for half a year and for half a year, it will be enough for the southern provinces as long as there is no major disaster.

There is no need to touch Beijing's reserves at all.

Zhu Qizhen nodded and looked at Yang Hong. Yang Hong said with understanding: "The battle has been fierce for half a year, and the losses in the war are not low. I think what the Duke of Yingguo said is very true, and the morale of the army is exhausted."

"Now that Annan's military strength is broken, it's hard to recover. It's better to slow it down."

Zhu Qizhen nodded and said, "Since that's the case, let him not worry, take a good rest and fight again next year."

Yang Hong said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Then Zhu Qizhen stopped several more things, of course, what could be spread to Zhu Qizhen is not a trivial matter.

The chieftains in Sichuan, Guizhou, seemed to be instability and had sent ministers to inspect. For example, a gunpowder depot in the capital caught fire, shocking the capital. Even the Empress Dowager lying on the bed heard the news, which forced Zhu Qizhen to ask about the case. He also ordered the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office to check all gunpowder and oil and other warehouses, and moved most of the warehouses in the city outside, and the rest were kept as warehouses that existed as ancillary facilities in the city walls.

After all, when you really want to defend the city, firearms are indispensable.

Be prepared for any trouble.

So, so on.

After dealing with these, Zhu Qizhen turned back to Cining Palace and looked at the empress dowager first. He asked about the empress dowager's pulse case. His heart sank slightly. After adjusting Lou Yuan for a while, the empress dowager's body recovered very well and he could already be helped by someone to walk. But that's all.

It is impossible to restore it before.

That's fine.

The Queen Mother's body is obviously different from before. If there is a turbulence, she will get sick.

Zhu Qizhen was worried, but he could do nothing.

When I came back, I saw the Queen Mother falling asleep.

Zhu Qizhen returned to the side hall, but saw the prince sleeping in a drowsy sleep on his chair.

Zhu Qizhen sighed, but did not call him.

As for taking care of patients, if you don’t take care of yourself, it’s very simple and just a routine matter, especially for the royal family, so many eunuchs and palace maids need them to do what they need to do.

But if you really put your heart into it, you will be worried. If you turn over, breathe, cough, or even sleep a little deeper, you will be thrilling and worried.

Zhu Qizhen didn't know whether the prince was asked by the queen to show his pure filial side in front of him or whether he really had a deep affection for the queen mother. Almost every night, the prince would set up a small bed beside the queen mother, and would get up to check whenever there was any movement.

But Zhu Qizhen was very satisfied with this.

No matter how the prince is concerned, it would be great to be able to do this.

After all, the prince has been pampered since childhood, so how could he take care of others?

Even if you are pretending, being able to listen to others' words is also a plus.

The prince slept very lightly. When he heard the movement, he immediately opened his eyes and bowed and said, "Father."

Zhu Qizhen nodded, asked him to sit down, and then told him the content of the meeting just now, and asked, "What do you think?"

The prince said, "As soon as Annan goes, I will feel sick when I go to the court. My son congratulates my father."

Zhu Qizhen said: "You are too happy too early. It took you seven months for British Duke Zhang Fu to defeat Annan, but Annan still rebelled. There are many problems. Even if I think this matter is, it is still difficult to see flowers in the fog, and it is difficult to get to the heart of it, so I want you to go to Annan."

The prince was slightly stunned and said, "Go to Annan?"

Zhu Qizhen said: "Formal, Annan will probably be newly established next year. You can catch up with the last one in the past. You will be the emperor in the future. The king of Annan also calls himself the Emperor of Dayue."

"You go and have a look. Calculate the time Han Yong has already taken office."

"After you go there, listen, watch and do more. Don't be afraid of being wrong. Experience it well."

Zhu Qizhen had this idea in his mind. The new land of concentration is very complicated and can be said to be a lot of trouble. If the prince could gain a foothold in Annan and pacify Annan, his ability would probably be almost the same.

After all, Annan is different from North Korea. The social structure of North Korea has not been damaged much, but it is impossible in Annan.

Annan's national sentiment is much higher than that of North Korea. In addition, Guo Deng's killings are too heavy, and I'm afraid that the people of Annan will not be obedient for a long time.

This tests administrative means very much.

It must be hard, and can suppress the resistance of the Annan people, and can also be soft, and can gather the hearts of the Annan people into the hands of the court.

Not an easy thing.

After hearing this, a trace of joy flashed through the prince's eyes.

Because he could hear that the position given to him by Zhu Qizhen this time was definitely not a mere small official and could not do anything big. Perhaps he was not as good as Han Yong, but his power would not be less.

But soon, the prince's eyes dimmed. Because he could hear a clue from time and said, "Father, is the Queen Mother's illness really not done?"

The prince has been by the empress dowager for a long time, and it is obvious that the empress dowager's condition has not improved. The time Zhu Qizhen arranged for him is the first half of next year.

Of course, it is impossible for the empress dowager to recover from her illness during this period of time, so there is only one possibility.

Zhu Qizhen sighed without answering.

But the prince was right, and Lou Yuan had already told Zhu Qizhen privately. If everything goes well, then winter will be the deadline. After the winter, there will be a year. But if it doesn't go well, it's hard to say.

Zhu Qizhen heard Lou Yuan's tone and was actually not optimistic about the empress dowager's survival of the winter.

Zhu Qizhen was convinced by Lou Yuan's medical skills. Whether it was good news or bad news, how could he tell the child in this way? What else could Zhu Qizhen have besides sighing?
Chapter completed!