My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 239: Twenty thousand people, nothing to fear
Su Wang thought for a moment, clasped his fists and said, "General Xu, General Li, my Xuanwei Division still has about 60,000 soldiers and horses that can be mobilized, and they can cooperate with the Ming Dynasty army in the battle!"

Xu Da raised his head at this time, smiled, and then said to Su Wang: "No, 20,000 people under my command are enough!"

Su Wang and his officials were all dumbfounded. Even if Xu Da was a great military genius, he only had 20,000 men. How could he defeat the Annan army?

Is it too fantastical?
Su Wang bravely said, "But General Xu, the Annan General Nguyen Duo Fang is said to have 500,000 men under his command. He is now unstoppable in Laos. General Xu, you only have 20,000 men. Aren't you a little too arrogant?"

"Hahaha, don't worry, Xuanwei Envoy. If I say it's enough, then it's enough!" Xu Da laughed loudly, his laughter full of confidence.

Haha, remember that during the Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Cao claimed that he had an army of 800,000. These claims about the number of troops are most likely just bluffing. If one can have half as many, it's considered pretty good.

This Nguyen Duo Fang claims that he has an army of 500,000. He is really bragging and is not afraid of being exposed. How many people does he have in the whole of Annan? Doesn't he know the number?
However, Xu Da rejected Su Wang's request not out of arrogance, but after careful consideration.

Today's combat form of the Ming army has long departed from Han Xin's model of the more soldiers the better. It is a consensus among the military generals of the Ming Dynasty that quality is more important than quantity.

On the one hand, the training model of the southern expedition army has been completely based on thermal weapons, and the mutual coordination and cooperation between the various musket battalions have already had their own mature model. Rashly adding new troops will only affect the combat rhythm of the soldiers.

Even if the local soldiers of the Laotian Xuanwei Office fought bravely and could resist when the wind was against them, how could they cooperate with the Ming army?

If you are charging in the front and run in the wrong route, you may not die by the enemy's knife, but by the gun of your friendly forces.

Apart from anything else, once the Xuanweisi troops join in, logistics alone will be a huge problem.

However, the local soldiers of the Xuanwei Office were not useless. After discussing with Li Wenzhong, Xu Da decided to let the local soldiers guard the rear to assist in defense, and at the same time be responsible for the logistics supply of the Ming army, helping to transport food, fodder, ammunition and other items to the front line.

In this way, the Ming army could save manpower in logistics and devote themselves fully to combat.

Su Wang had no choice but to agree to such an arrangement. He and Xu Da and Li Wenzhong took their leave and left the general's tent.

At this time, the Ming army soldiers were feasting on glutinous rice, roast chicken, rice noodles and so on. Although the taste was a bit strange, it was still unique.

And bananas are usually a rare commodity, but here they are plentiful.

After eating and drinking, many Ming army soldiers began to maintain their guns according to the manual, wiping what needed to be wiped and oiling what needed to be oiled, in preparation for the upcoming war.

Looking at everything in front of him, a Laotian native official said to Suwang worriedly:
"Sir, I see that there are no other weapons in this military camp except for muskets and cannons. Could it be that the Ming army only uses these things to fight?"

Another local official also said: "It is the rainy season now. It will rain for several months in a row. The fire guns are not as useful as fire sticks. His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is sending the army to die! What should we do?"

Su Wang sighed deeply, "Your Majesty has his own considerations. General Xu is the number one contributor to the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and General Li is your Majesty's nephew. I don't think your Majesty will let the two of them die in vain!"

He paused, looked at the somewhat dejected local officials, and felt a lack of motivation.

After Nguyen Dai launched a massive attack on Laos, although they organized local soldiers to resist, their military strength was far inferior to that of the Annan army, and their land was getting smaller and smaller. Now Nguyen Dai has completely occupied the Xieng Khouang area and has begun to prepare for Vientiane.

After finally waiting for the long-awaited Ming Dynasty army, what they welcomed was only a mere 20,000 soldiers armed with muskets. This instantly chilled Su Wang's passionate heart.

"No matter what, we are enthroned by the Ming Dynasty court. We are Ming officials in life and Ming ghosts in death. Everyone, let us fight to the death!"

Su Wang clenched his fists, as if he had made up his mind.

The other local officials were also helpless, looking up to the sky and sighing, as if they saw their own inevitable death. …

In Xiengkhuang, the Annan army's garrison, Nguyen Duo Fang was drinking fine wine in the general's tent, looking very pleased with himself.

The war against Laos went more smoothly than expected. The local soldiers were simply no match for the Annan army.

At this rate, it won’t be long before the army can occupy the entire Laos before the rainy season, and then go straight down to Zhenla to establish the Great Annan Empire!

By then, once Le Qui San became emperor, he would have to confer the title of prince on Nguyen Duo Fang, right?

At this time, a man lifted the curtain and walked in. It was General Fan Keyong.

"General Fan, come and have a drink with me." Ruan Duofang raised his glass and said.

"Commander, I have something important to report!" Fan Keyong saluted with his fists clasped.

"General Fan, please tell me what's important." Ruan Duofang put down the cup and said seriously.

"Commander, the Ming army has arrived in Laos recently and is currently stationed in the Nanzhan area." Fan Keyong said.

"The Ming army has arrived?" Ruan Duofang's expression changed, but he did not look panicked. The Ming army's southward march into Laos was already expected, but what he did not expect was that the Ming army arrived a little too fast.

Didn’t the chieftains of Yunnan hold back the Ming army?
These toasts are really rubbish!
"How many Ming troops have arrived and what is the current situation?" Ruan Duofang asked.

Fan Keyong paused, his expression looking a little strange, as if he wanted to laugh, but was trying his best to suppress it.

"Reporting to the commander, the Ming army has more than 25,000 troops, including 20,000 musketeers and an artillery battalion of 5,000."

"Hmm? Anything else?" Ruan Duofang waited for Fan Keyong to continue.

"No more." Fan Keyong said.

"No more?" Ruan Duofang suddenly widened his eyes, as if he couldn't believe it.

"The Ming army only has this many soldiers and horses?" Ruan Duofang asked in surprise:

"Do they think they can fight against my army of 200,000 with just over 20,000 people?
Is it that the Ming army thinks too highly of itself, or that it underestimates us?"

"Commander, according to spies, the Ming army originally had 55,000 soldiers heading south to Laos, but 30,000 of them stayed in Chelifu!"

"Oh, why is this?" Ruan Duofang was stunned. What was the Ming army doing?
Since ancient times, armies marching and fighting have always meant adding troops to the battlefield. How could they ever reduce troops?

Could there be something fishy going on here?
"Commander, according to our intelligence, after the Ming army entered Chelifu, they encountered heavy rain for several days, which caused their firearms to become damp and unable to fire. Therefore, they stayed in Chelifu and then divided their troops into 25,000 men and continued to march south," Fan Keyong explained.

"So that's how it is, humph!" Ruan Duofang sneered, but said with great disdain:
"I think the Ming army divided these 20,000-plus troops just to show off to the Laotian envoy and stabilize the people's hearts.

However, the Ming army’s wishful thinking is about to fail! "

(End of this chapter)