Northern Desert Plains!
At the southernmost end of the Tula River, there were countless large white tents erected on the endless grassland.
It was the encampment of the 100,000-strong army led by Xu Da.
In the tent of the central army.
Xu Da held the edge of the sand table with both hands, his pair of tiger eyes staring fixedly at the mountains and rivers on the sand table.
"Where did Lan Yu and Geng Bingwen go?”
After the camp was set up, Xu Da sent out a large number of scouts to search for the scattered Ming army.
Among them, there was no need to search for the 70,000 troops that Li Wenzhong was guarding, because the location had already been marked in the letter he sent last time.
On the day the camp was stationed, Xu Da had already sent someone to inform Li Wenzhong.
In at most five days, the army led by Li Wenzhong would reach the joint venture.
Apart from that, 15,000 of the 30,000 soldiers who had been separated had already found their camps.
Although the remaining 10,000 soldiers had not returned to Li Wenzhong's camp, the scouts sent out by Xu Da had found them and would be able to return to the camp in a few days.
As for the remaining 5,000 soldiers, there was still no news.
However, Xu Da believed that nothing could have happened to these five thousand soldiers because Lan Yu and Geng Bingwen were among them.
These two were famous generals, so it was impossible for something to happen to them, but at the same time, it was impossible for them not to return to the camp for so many days.
Therefore, the only possibility was that they were in trouble.
Xu Da knew very well in his heart that he had to find them as soon as possible. Otherwise, it was very likely that they would be eaten by the expansion.
"Where could it be?"
After looking at the sand table several times, Xu Da could not find any clues.
At this moment, Zhu Xiong entered the tent.
"Kid, you came just in time. Come, help me think about where Lan Yu and Geng Bingwen are!”
Xu Da pulled Zhu Rong towards the sand table.
This kid was quick-witted. He might be able to give him a surprise.
"Uncle Xu, are you stupid? How can you find Geng Bingwen and Lan Yu on the sand table? This is not a war where you can predict an ambush from the terrain.”
Zhu Rong could not help but roll his eyes." They were scattered by the expanding army and fled in all directions. There's no trace of them at all. The only way is to send more scouts to search the area.”
"How can I not know about this?"
Xu Da explained," Out of the 30,000 soldiers who were scattered, the remaining 25,000 have been found or have been rushed back. Lan Yu and Geng Bingwen are definitely among the remaining 5,000. With their abilities, they will definitely rush back to the camp as soon as possible."”
"But now, the 5,000 soldiers led by the two of them still haven't returned to the camp. In fact, they can't even be found. There's only one possibility.”
"Hey, wait a minute. Are you kidding me?”
Seeing Zhu Rong nod in agreement, Xu Da instantly reacted. Zhu Rong actually understood everything, but he just didn't want to say it.
"I don't dare to play with the Great General, but I have something to ask the Great General for permission.”
Zhu Xiong grinned and laughed.
"You brat, this concerns the lives of 5,000 soldiers, and you still want to negotiate with me?”
Xu Da's expression instantly turned extremely ugly. He even wanted to give Zhu Rong fifty strokes of the stick. Soldiers were like hands and feet. The latter was the dignified King of Wu of Ming Dynasty, yet he would actually do such a ridiculous thing.
"Phew ~"
"Great General, I wouldn't dare to speak nonsense." Zhu Rong hurriedly said,"When did Biao Xia ever say that he wanted to negotiate with you?"”
"The Duke of Changxing and the Duke of Yongchang are the pillars of the country, and the soldiers have fought on the battlefield for the people of Ming. If I were to use their lives to negotiate with Great General, wouldn't I be worse than a beast?”
"Great General, don't worry. After you listen to my suggestion, I will explain my opinion whether you agree or not.”
Good heavens, if he didn't explain this quickly, he would definitely be beaten.
"That's more like it. Tell me, what's the matter?”
Xu Da straightened his back and left the sand table. He sat on the chair beside him and gestured for Zhu Rong to sit down.
"Actually, it's nothing serious. Didn't I lead 500 light cavalry to wipe out 3,000 cavalrymen of Northern Yuan last time?”
"After going on the battlefield and making contributions, my hands are itching.”
"In addition, those soldiers who used to follow me are all clamoring for me to bring them to the battlefield again.”
"So, Uncle Xu, why don't you give me 2,000 people and let me train them. When the time comes, I'll bring them to the battlefield.”
"Uncle Xu, don't worry. I can guarantee that I can train these two thousand people into the strongest two thousand-man squads in the entire army in an extremely short period of time.”
Zhu Xiong held his head high and puffed out his chest confidently. He was just short of making a military pledge.
"Forget it!"
Who knew that after hearing Zhu Rong's words, Xu Da directly waved his hand and refused,""Before I came, I promised His Majesty that I would not let you put yourself in danger.”
"Last time, because we were alone, I knew very well that they wouldn't stay in battle. As long as they were exposed, they would flee north. There was no danger at all, so I allowed you to cause trouble.”
"But the battlefield that follows is different. It will be a life and death battle.”
Xu Da knew better than anyone what Zhu Rong meant to Da Ming.
High-yield rice could allow more people to eat and not starve.
The flintlock could enhance the Divine Arms Battalion's combat power and counter the Northern Yuan cavalrymen.
The prosperity of Ming Dynasty was closely related to Zhu Xi.
"Uncle Xu, let me ask you a question. Am I more important to Big Ming, or is Imperial Father more important to Big Ming?”
"Of course it's His Majesty!"
"Then, has Imperial Father personally gone to the battlefield?”
"Naturally."
"Even Father can go to the battlefield, so why can't I? Uncle Xu, you can't be unreasonable!”
Zhu Xiong spread his hands and said with a mocking expression.
Xu Da opened his mouth, not knowing how to retort.
Only then did he realize that he had fallen into Zhu Xiong's trap.
"You're being unreasonable. Could His Majesty's situation back then be the same as yours now?”
Xu Da started to argue irrationally. In any case, he had the final say in the matters of the army.
"Uncle Xu, let's look at it from another angle.”
Zhu Rong had already expected that Xu Da would not agree so easily. Thus, even though the latter was twisting his words, he still maintained a calm expression.
"I'm the Great Ming's King of Wu, and I'm going to guard the border in the future.”
"Uncle Xu, think about it carefully. How can a King of Wu, who has never even been on a real battlefield, convince the masses and make the soldiers sincerely submit to me? If they were not united, their combat strength would be reduced. This was a kind of potential self-weakening.”
"Besides, other than being the Great Ming's King of Wu, I'm also a part of the Great Ming. I was raised by my parents. Others can go to the battlefield, but why can't I?”
The more Zhu Rong spoke, the more agitated he became. When his emotions rose, he immediately slammed the table and shouted,"The Son of Heaven guards the gates of the country, and the king dies for the country. I'm just a Prince. If the Son of Heaven can go to the battlefield, why can't I?”
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。