Chapter 766: Traces are hard to find

The dry season in Annan Kingdom is about to end, the Ming army has stopped almost all military operations, and all the soldiers are stationed in important cities in the plains to rest.

The Chen Zhengyuan regime also gradually established an effective county system and bureaucratic rule in various places.

The Annan Governor's Office received reliable information that there were several rebels cultivated by the rebels in the mountains, and the troops of the Lili tribe were active there.

Perhaps because of the mountainous area, very close to the ruling center of Annan Kingdom, the Governor's Office decided to send an army to destroy the rebels' farmland and warehouses.

This is an infantry army composed of two hundred-houses, with several scouts.The main force was nearly 200, marching along the narrow roads in the mountains and forests.The men and horses can only advance in a formation like a snake.

The surrounding mountains and forests are lush and there is no people, and people are full of green plants and trees.

However, the scout team continued to enter the woods, searching for possible human traces to avoid sudden attacks from the main force.

A scout's small flag captain carefully pushed apart the branches of the bushes and looked down at the situation on the ground.

He was a young and low-level general, and he was very careful in his movements. He was holding a hatchet in his hand, and while observing the situation, he led the way.

Some of the soldiers looked around nervously, while others walked weakly.

Apart from the quiet birds around, the new sergeant soldiers who entered the scout team felt unbearable, but the road was rugged.

Some of them were holding Chunhan light guns, with ammunition and fuses hanging on them, and several were holding shields and spears.

It seems that someone has been here recently.The little flag leader said in a deep voice.

A soldier behind him said: There are not even such ghosts in the forest. Are they hunters?

perhaps.Xiaoqi said, but everyone should be careful.

Someone!Someone suddenly let out a low voice.

After a moment, two bangs and bangs and two firearms suddenly sounded from the forest.Everyone was anxious and looked for cover in the woods on both sides of the path, but unexpectedly, AhAh screamed a few times.

When the little flag was watching, a soldier rushed into a pit!

There must be a trap inside, and the soldier was still outside, but his face was pale and screamed in pain.

On the other side, a soldier was kneeling on the ground, covering his legs and humming in pain, and a sharpened hard bamboo strip pierced into his legs.

Bang bang bang bang... Several soldiers holding muskets shot at the place where the firearm was just now, but except for creating a piece of gunpowder, they hit nothing, and they didn't know where the lead bullets flew.

The branches and weeds were shaking, and a figure swung past the branches, as if they were running away.Two Ming soldiers threw their guns and shields, picked up the bow and arrow in anger, and wanted to chase them.

The little flag leader ordered: Stop!There may be traps ahead.

Someone spitted into the distance: Cao Damn!

Xiaoqi said: Help the injured brother back and report to Mr. Zhang.

Everyone was busy saving the people in the pit. Immediately, a few fly and insects flew into the air, and a stench came from the air, as if it was a mixture of dead mice and feces.

The sergeant's feet and buttocks after falling were stabbed by pointed bamboo strips and iron sheets, and the things were covered with rotten animal internal organs and dark feces.

If it cannot be cured, the dirt will become so deep that the meat will become purulent.Humane.

Xiaoqi said: Take it back first and find a doctor to see you.

The injured soldier suddenly said: Brother, I'll give me some fun. I don't want to live a life and die, and I'll drag everyone down.

The soldiers around him ignored him and just went up to pull out the bamboo strips and iron sheets on his body.Swish!The wounded soldier suddenly pulled out his waist knife and waved it in front of him. The two soldiers hurriedly retreated.

Xiaoqi Chief said: What are you doing?

I have seen brothers who have become purulent, but they are not cured!If I vented this anger, it would be difficult for me to die at that time.The injured soldiers were on the way.

Everyone fell silent.

The injured soldier suddenly turned his head with his waist knife and pointed it at his chest. Then he looked back at the jungle around him, looked at the soldiers around him, and stopped his eyes on the face of the little flag leader: Am I dead in battle?

Xiaoqi Chang said: It should be counted.

The wounded soldier laughed bitterly, stared at his eyes and gritted his teeth, and suddenly shouted, piercing his heart with force, and slowly fell down.

The small flag captain bent down to salute the injured soldier, and the soldiers also bowed to salute the corpse.The eldest son of the flag said: Take it away.

...Half a month later, Zhang Fu received a report in the Annan Governor's Office in Dongguan City.

The Ming army burned down villages and three rice fields, arrested dozens of people from Annan, but most of them were elderly, weak, women and children; more than a hundred other people were slaughtered by the Ming army because of stubborn resistance.

More than 20 casualties of Ming soldiers were not caused by losses on the battlefield, but encountered harassment and traps during the march.

According to the military law formulated by Zhang Fu, after the rebel soldiers receive the letters left in the ruins, if they surrender to the government within one month, they can be exempted from death at their discretion; otherwise, all prisoners will be sentenced to exile in Qiongzhou.

But on the way to escort, the resentful Ming soldiers would definitely make the prisoners more in danger, but those people would not die in Annan.

Zhang Fu personally met the low-ranking general and asked the soldiers about their experiences in detail. Zhang Fu ordered the entire army: When entering the mountains to clear out, they should not hide at will when they encounter harassment, and should be on standby.

At this time, it started to rain outside. The rain in Annan Kingdom was usually very fast, and the surroundings were soon filled with the sound of rain.

Zhang Fu, wearing a red official uniform, walked to the window to watch the rain with his hands behind his back.Huang Zhong and other generals stopped talking and kept quiet respectfully.

After a while, Zhang Fu turned around and walked on the ground.

Huang Zhong then spoke: When he heard the news, the court was preparing to attack the Japanese island, and the war might expand.The official army initially had not many troops, but if the court sent large troops to attack in the future, would the general be Anyuan Hou (Liu Sheng)?

Zhang Fu ignored him and did not respond.

Another general said: General, the last general thought that we already have military farms in the northeast of Annan Kingdom, and the official shops at the post station were also set up. It is better to retreat to the place where the troops were stationed earlier, and there is no need to care about the scattered soldiers hiding in the mountains and forests.Let Queen Mother Chen’s people clean up the mess.

At this time, Zhang Fu finally spoke: The strategy was decided by the court, so sooner or later it should be done.However, if this strategy is implemented, most of the Beijing camp should be returned to China, and the Ming army's troops in Annan would be reduced by more than half, leaving only less than 30,000 people.So we must first deal with it.

Deal with Lili?the general asked.

Zhang Fu nodded and said: The Chen royal family is still very weak, and most Annan officials don’t do their best to deal with this person.

His eyes looked over the faces of the generals and said: Although the rebels hid in the mountains and had a good location when they attacked, we were not unable to deal with them.

Rebels are also humans, and they need food, clothing, land and houses.The fields in the mountains are small and barren, and they will inevitably be poor and have difficulty in making a living. They have to be worried and may be destroyed by the government at any time.Without the control of Li Li and others, the thieves would be intimidated and incited by the thieves; these rebels would quickly collapse under the mercy of the Governor's Office and the use of suppression and pacification, which was not worth worrying.Capturing the thief first, capturing the king, finding and eliminating Lili is the top priority of the Governor's Office.

Everyone clasped their fists and said: The last general will follow the coach's instructions!

Zhang Fu said calmly again: What the emperor cares most about Annan Kingdom is Li Li's life and death.Sharing the worries for the king is the duty of a minister.

After hearing this, Huang Zhong and others all looked dazed.

With the combat power of the Ming army at this time, it was not difficult to win on the front battlefield. Liu Sheng was able to defeat Qinghua, Yanzhou, Ng'an and other places, but it could not prove that he was very talented.

If Liu Sheng was asked to deal with the rebels hiding in the mountains such as Li Li, there would be no way out; Zhang Fu believed that he was the only one who could deal with such a person!

The Ming Dynasty had many civil wars and wars in the south and north. Today's generation is simply talented, and the dukes and maids in the capital were all very capable.

Zhang Fu felt that he was not short of military merits and identity, and the most important thing was to gain the true trust of the emperor.

The war to attack Japan may have begun. So many generals may not be the turn of Liu Sheng to lead the troops, nor may they be the turn of Zhang Fu.

However, if Zhang Fu had not left Annanguo, he must have belonged to him before he could leave Li Li.

Therefore, Zhang Fu gave up the matter of going to Beijing to offer prisoners; Zhang Fu also gave up the possible military achievements in conquering Japan.

All glory that floats on the surface is just a cloud.

Only by being one mind with the emperor is the secret to the prosperity of the noble family.

The rainy season is approaching, and all ministries should pay attention to the cleaning and disease prevention of the military camps.After Zhang Fu said that, he waved his hand gently.

Everyone clasped their fists and said: "The last general will obey the order and say goodbye."

After Zhang Fu returned the gift, he stayed in the signing room and did not leave after the generals went out.

As the rainy season approached, not long ago, Zhang Fu was still eager to send troops to the mountainous areas southwest of Dongguan to fight for the suppression because he got news from the surrendered rebels, where Li Li was in charge.

But there was nothing in this battle.

Lili is a very powerful man and has a high prestige among the rebels.Zhang Fu believed that most of the rebels had no idea where Lili's nest was. Lili just appeared everywhere from time to time and did not stay for long.

Lili was prepared in advance, and coupled with the dense forests and the marching difficulties caused by the western region of Annan, Zhang Fu wanted to catch the thief's head to find a needle in a haystack.

But this person must be removed!The emperor far away in the capital also understood who was the key figure of the rebels. Zhang Fu and Zhu Gaoxu often held the same view on major events, and this time was no exception.

Maybe we should think of other ways instead of just sending troops to search.

Zhang Fu stood in front of the window again, looking at the rain outside and pondered. He felt that there must be some solution, but he didn't expect it for the time being.