Chapter 129: Your Highness is about to die, so I came here to pay my respects.
The recruitment hall in Gaoyou Mansion is not as gorgeous as the recruitment hall in Jiangdu, but it is also a house carefully selected by Zhang Shicheng.
There is a bamboo forest, a plum forest, and dozens of small monasteries in the museum, which are extremely elegant.
Zhang Shicheng had just arrived at the entrance of the recruitment hall and happened to meet a person walking out. The man was dressed in plain clothes and had a white scarf on his head. Who else could he be if he wasn't Ma Yulin?
Zhang Shicheng hurriedly came over and asked with concern: "Did someone pass away in your family, sir?"
Ma Yulin said: "No."
"Then why sir, is dressed in plain clothes?"
Ma Yulin cupped his hands towards Zhang Shicheng and said, "Yulin heard that His Highness was about to die, so he came here to pay his respects!"
After Zhang Shide heard this, his color suddenly changed.
"Ma Yulin, my brother has been very courteous to you, and even came here in person today to worship you as Zhongshu Province Youcheng. If you don't want to be grateful, why are you cursing my brother to die early!"
Ma Yulin looked at Zhang Shicheng, raised his head and said, "It is precisely because His Highness King Cheng treated me with courtesy that I am willing to pay my respects to His Highness."
Zhang Shicheng took a deep breath and forced a smile: "I wonder where your words come from?"
Ma Yulin said: "The last time I saw His Highness, Yulin was deeply impressed by His Highness's broad-mindedness. However, after seeing him in the city these past few days, I realized that His Highness is not a person who has achieved great things. He has already been in trouble without knowing it!"
Zhang Shicheng's expression was calm and expressionless as he said: "How can I not be a person who achieves great things? How can a disaster be imminent?"
Ma Yulin said: "I know King Cheng was unhappy after hearing this, but good medicine tastes bitter and loyal words offend the ears. Please think carefully about it!"
Zhang Shicheng was stunned for a long time, put away his displeasure, cupped his hands and said, "Please give me some advice, sir."
Ma Yulin raised his voice and said: "Does King Cheng know what Jiangdu Jun is doing recently?"
Zhang Shicheng was stunned again: "I don't know."
"They are training soldiers, forging arrows, strengthening city defenses, and preparing for the Yuan army's upcoming attack! On the other hand, Your Highness is not at all prepared to hold on to Gaoyou."
Zhang Shide snorted and said: "If the Yuan army comes to invade, we will just repel it, so why bother to hold on?"
Zhang Shicheng said nothing, obviously agreeing with his brother's words.
Ma Yulin glanced at Zhang Shide and said: "General Zhang, how do we compare with Liu Futong and Xu Shouhui in Zhou Dynasty?"
Zhang Shide hesitated for a moment and said: "Although it's not as good as it is now, I can't say for sure in the future!"
Ma Yulin said: "Both of these two men once had hundreds of thousands of troops, and they had many ministers and fierce generals. They once attacked the city and plundered the territory with overwhelming force. Now they are fighting hard against the Yuan army, and the situation is extremely dangerous. Besides, Sesame Li once had more than ten troops.
Wan, was defeated by the Yuan army in one blow. Do you know what this means?"
Zhang Shicheng said: "Sir, please speak clearly!"
Ma Yulin said slowly: "The reason is that when they revolted, they faced the local Yuan army. It was too easy to win, so they despised the Yuan army! As a result, they suffered a big loss when they faced the main force of the Yuan army!"
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Zhang Shicheng was stunned for a long time and said sincerely: "Mr.'s words are like a slap in the face, which wakes me up! Our army's recent victory in consecutive battles has indeed made me a little relaxed!"
Ma Yulin said sternly: "Our Zhou army and Jiangdu army have blocked the water transportation, and the main force of Yuan soldiers will definitely attack. It is precisely because of this that Jiangdu army has strengthened its protection!"
Zhang Shicheng took a deep breath and sighed: "I asked why Zhang Yangquan kept his troops stationary after he captured Jiangdu. It turned out that he was preparing for the main force of the Yuan army to invade. I really didn't think as far as he did!"
Ma Yulin said: "If the main force of the Yuan army attacks, Gaoyou will bear the brunt. Your Highness needs to take precautions early!"
Zhang Shide suddenly said: "Sir, are you saying that the main force of the Yuan army will come from the north instead of the south?"
Ma Yulin looked surprised and said, "Didn't your army send someone to Xuzhou to find out the news?"
The Zhang brothers looked at each other and shook their heads.
Ma Yulin shook his head and sighed: "How negligent Your Highness is. Tuotuo is stationed in Xuzhou. Who in the world is not afraid of the rebel army? Jiangdu Army has news coming back from Xuzhou every day, but Your Highness doesn't care at all!"
Zhang Shide snorted and said: "Mr. Ma, why does it sound a little unpleasant to me? What you said, both internally and externally, seems to say that we are not as good as Jiangdu Army!"
Ma Yulin was unceremonious: "Only in terms of intelligence gathering, you are not as good as Jiangdu Army!"
"You..."
"Shide, stop talking!"
Zhang Shicheng stopped his brother and said to Ma Yulin: "Sir, although we didn't send any scouts to Xuzhou, we still know that Tuotuo just sent Jia Lu to lead troops to attack Haozhou!"
Ma Yulin said: "So you think that Xuzhou Yuan soldiers will not invade, so you take the opportunity to attack the city and seize territory to expand your strength?"
Zhang Shicheng asked: "Isn't it wrong? If the Xuzhou army really wants to deal with us, why send Jia Lu to attack Haozhou?"
Ma Yulin solemnly said: "When I left Jiangdu, I secretly inquired about the news. Xuzhou is recruiting grain and grass, wooden carts and civilians every day. The scale is extremely large, and it can supply at least more than 200,000 troops! Jialu's 30,000 horses,
It’s just a cover-up!"
Zhang Shicheng's expression changed: "Is this really happening?"
"Your Highness should send someone to inquire about the situation in Xuzhou. Otherwise, in the future, hundreds of thousands of yuan troops will approach the city, and your troops will still be scattered in Taizhou, Tongzhou, and Xinghua. It will be too late to regret it! I will say this and take my leave!
”
After finishing speaking, he turned around and left.
Zhang Shicheng asked anxiously: "Where are you going, sir? I would like to ask you to be the right minister of Zhongshu Province!"
Ma Yulin waved his hand and said: "Your Highness, let's deal with the important matters at hand first. The scenery of the recruitment hall is nice, and Yulin wants to stay here for a few more days!"
Zhang Shide waited for him to go away and hummed: "Brother, this guy must not trust us. He is afraid that we can't defeat the Yuan army, so he is ready to run away at any time!"
Zhang Shicheng sighed and said: "Our decision to attack Tongzhou is indeed a bit reckless. It's no wonder that Mr. Ma is not optimistic about us."
Zhang Shide said: "Then do we need to send orders to Lu Zhen and Bian Yuanheng to bring their troops back?"
Zhang Shicheng was silent for a while and said: "Don't worry, you will first send someone to Xuzhou to inquire about the information and see if the situation is really as Mr. Ma said."
"Then do we still need to move the troops to Taizhou?"
"Let's wait for a few days and wait until the situation in Xuzhou is known before making a decision!"
Zhang Shide thought for a while and said: "Brother, if what Ma Yulin said is true and the Yuan army is really gathering troops in Xuzhou, we still have a way to deal with it!"
"What?"
"Abandon Gaoyou and turn to Jiangnan?"
Zhang Shicheng glared and said: "That's nonsense! I was scared away by the Yuan army before we could fight. How would the heroes of the world treat me, Zhang Shicheng? Moreover, our navy has not practiced, so how can we ensure the success of crossing the river?"
Zhang Shide said with a smile: "I am just providing an idea. Anyway, I will go to Xuzhou personally to inquire and see if Tuotuo is really gathering an army!"
A few days later, Zhang Shide came back with the news. Just as Ma Yulin said, Xuzhou was mobilizing a large number of grain and fodder, carts, and civilians. It was obvious that a big move was going to be made.
Zhang Shicheng then decided to transfer the troops and horses from Taizhou back and prepare to stick to Gaoyou.
However, his general Li Boxheng firmly opposed it and said: "Your Majesty, do you still remember what Bian Yuanheng said about the two major benefits of attacking Tongzhou?"
Zhang Shicheng sighed: "How can we not remember that if we capture Tongzhou, we can cross the Yangtze River and go south at any time, which has one benefit. Tongzhou is close to the sea, and we can buy iron ore through sea trade, which has two benefits."
Li Boxheng said: "It is too early for our army to cross the river. However, the iron ore is an urgent need! Our water transport to the north is blocked by Yuan soldiers, to the west by Sizhou. To the south, we can only cross the river in Jiangdu
Buy iron ore. But the merchants in Jiangdu sold smuggled iron ore to Zhang Yangquan. We don’t have iron ore, how can we make weapons?"
Zhang Shicheng hesitated and said: "We can divide the troops into Tongzhou. What if the main force of the Yuan army comes over?"
Li Boxheng said: "Without iron ore, arrows cannot be made. Even if all the troops are gathered in the city, they may not be able to defend the city!"
Zhang Shicheng was silent for a long time and said: "You go down first, I will think about it later."