Crown Prince Zhu Biao smiled and looked at Zhu Zhen with interest.
The current Sixth Brother had already shown signs of becoming a military genius.
He was very curious about how his sixth brother, Zhu Zhen, would answer.
Would he say something shocking again and bring him an even bigger surprise?
Zhu Zhen was still calm and composed as he said,
"The art of war is to use the real and the fake. Show the weak and use the strong.”
"If I were a Northern Yuan person, I would avoid the enemy and pretend to be defeated first to make the Ming army proud and underestimate the enemy. Then, I would lure the enemy deep into the desert and concentrate the superior forces to defeat the main force of the Ming army in one fell swoop.”
"As long as the Ming army underestimates the enemy, Northern Yuan will win this battle.”
It was the same in history.
During the second northern expedition during the Hongwu period, Xu Da led the middle army and won many victories in the beginning. Later on, they underestimated the enemy and advanced alone. They were ambushed by Wang Baobao and He Zongzhe's alliance army in the north of the mountain.
However, Xu Da was Xu Da after all, and Wang Baobao was only Wang Baobao.
In the previous battle, Xu Da had attacked Wang Baobao. Wang Baobao had suffered a great defeat and had only fled with his wife and daughter.
This time, Wang Baobao had used his superior forces to launch a sneak attack on Xu Da, who was unprepared. However, Xu Da remained calm in the face of danger and organized his troops to counterattack, successfully blocking Wang Baobao's sneak attack.
They quickly stabilized their position and set up camp. Wang Baobao had suffered too many casualties and did not dare to attack again.
Xu Da calmly retreated.
In the battle of Lingbei, both sides had casualties, but it was a win-win situation.
However, the Ming army failed to defeat the Northern Yuan in one fell swoop. It was a failed northern expedition.
Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang's strategic goal was to annihilate the Northern Yuan's forces so that they would not dare to invade the south again.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not pursue Xu Da's crime.
After Zhu Zhen finished speaking, Xu Da's expression suddenly became very ugly.
As a famous general, Xu Da naturally knew that Zhu Zhen's strategy was fatal. It was the sharpest counterattack that the Northern Yuan people could adopt.
However, Xu Da naturally would not admit defeat in front of Zhu Zhen.
"Hmph, who doesn't know how to talk on paper?"
"The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. If you want to win, you have to rely on the on-the-spot command of the commander.”
"Your Royal Highness Chu, you're eloquent and boastful. Do you dare to practice martial arts with me on the sand table?”
Previously, when Xu Da was testing Zhu Zhen on the art of war, it was a test from the elders to the juniors.
Now that they were going to do the Sandbox Martial Arts, they were treating Zhu Zhen as an imaginary enemy. It was a contest between opponents.
It was obvious that Xu Da, the number one general of Great Ming, was already angry. He wanted to teach Zhu Zhen a lesson during the battle.
Playing martial arts in the sand table with Great Ming's number one general, Xu Da?
Zhu Zhen raised his eyebrows.
Not everyone had such an opportunity. Even if they were defeated, they could still learn a lot.
"Why not?"
Zhu Zhen replied seriously with a solemn expression.
Xu Da didn't waste any time and immediately brought Zhu Zhen and Crown Prince Zhu Biao into the study.
In the middle of the study was a huge military sandbox, taking up nearly half of the study.
At this moment, the sand table was strictly in accordance with a certain proportion, outlining the terrain of the mountains, rivers, fortresses, and marching routes in the north of the desert.
Not only was there a map of the terrain, but there were also red and black flags that represented the Ming Army and the Northern Yuan Army.
The number of flags represented the number of troops on both sides.
In history, military sand table exercises were first invented by Ma Yuan, a general under Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
It was 1800 years ahead of the world.
At that time, Liu Xiu attacked Kui Xiao and wanted to personally go into battle. His subordinates felt that it was not appropriate to go deep alone and firmly opposed it.
Liu Xiu summoned General Ma Yuan to discuss. Ma Yuan used rice to make valleys, pointed at mountains and rivers, and told everyone the situation of the two armies.
The Book of the Later Han Dynasty records: "Yuan Yin said that the general Kui clamor had the potential to collapse, and the army was bound to break. He also gathered rice in front of the emperor to form a valley, pointed out the shape of the valley, and showed the roads and paths that the army had taken. The twists and turns of the road were clearly visible. "The enemy is in my sight," said the Emperor.
Finally, Kui clamor was defeated.
By the Ming Dynasty, the military sandbox had been developed to a very complete level.
Looking at the military sandbox in front of him, Zhu Zhen's eyes lit up and were filled with shock.
This was his first time seeing a military sandbox.
Seeing Zhu Zhen's performance, Xu Da smiled smugly.
"Why? Is Your Highness afraid after seeing the sand table?”
Zhu Zhen buried his head in the study for a while. Combining it with the military books he had read in the past three years, he quickly understood the military sandbox.
His gaze became more determined.
"Great General Xu, if you want to fight, then let's fight.”
Outside the study.
Xu Miaoyun couldn't help but smile when she saw her father and the Sixth Prince Zhu Zhen fighting.
It seemed that his father would no longer treat Zhu Zhen as a bookworm!
He called Xu Yungong and Xu Zengshou and instructed them to guard the door of the study room and not let anyone approach it.
Only then did Xu Miaoyun bring her little sister Xu Miaojin and Xu Doudou to the backyard.
......
This sand table martial arts practice related to the Northern Expedition lasted for more than two hours.
......
Hall of Heaven.
The Crown Prince Zhu Biao immediately reported the situation of Zhu Zhen and Xu Da's Sandbox Martial Show to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang was in disbelief.
"What?"
"Our Sixth Brother defeated Xu Da?"
"Xu Da is a famous general who has been through the ages. How could he be defeated?”
Zhu Biao had expected his father's reaction. He smiled and said,""Your son also thought so at that time."
"But Uncle Xu said it himself.”
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened as he excitedly paced back and forth in the hall.
"Haha, our Sixth Brother is still a general!”
"He actually dealt with Xu Da!"
"Let's see what those generals have to say now.”
"Boss, tell us more about the details. Don't miss a single word.”
Crown Prince Zhu Biao could only repeat what had happened and added,""As a result, Uncle Xu's army in the middle suffered heavy casualties, while Sixth Brother's Northern Yuan Army suffered more than half of the casualties.”
"As for the other two armies, State Duke Cao's east side returned without success, while State Duke Song's west side gained some gains.”
"In my opinion, Uncle Xu did not lose.”
"However, he said that he had lost. In the end, he respectfully sent me and Sixth Brother out of the Xu Manor.”
Zhu Yuanzhang said," Xu Da is right. He fought with Sixth Brother like this. He was indeed defeated. Moreover, he was defeated so badly that he had nothing to say."”
"Previously, I heard that Sixth Brother has been hiding in the study every day for the past few years. He's a bookworm.”
"We didn't take it seriously. We just hoped that he could become a great scholar in the future and become a wise vassal king in the future to benefit the people.”
"Now, it seems that we have underestimated him. He must have secretly read a lot of military books behind his back. He is also like Fourth Brother. He wants to lead troops to war, go into battle to kill the enemy, and defend the Ming Dynasty for us.”
"As expected of someone from the Zhu family.”
Zhu Biao nodded in agreement. Suddenly, he apologized," Father, I forgot to discuss the marriage between Sixth Brother and the eldest daughter of the Xu family, so I was sent out by Uncle Xu.”
Zhu Yuanzhang said,"It doesn't matter. If Xu Da doesn't say anything, it means that he agrees to this marriage."”
"Sixth Brother is fourteen this year. We'll get engaged now and get married in two years.”
"We originally didn't win in this northern expedition, but with Sixth Brother and Xu Da's sand table martial arts practice, we can adjust our strategic plan.”
"This northern expedition has gone from losing to winning, and it's a huge victory. Sixth Brother alone is comparable to an army of 100,000!”
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。