The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 640

In addition to these 30,000 garrison troops, Jiajing also planned to send the Tiger Legion along. With the combination of orthodox and unorthodox tactics, plus the Ming Dynasty's firearms, Jiajing felt that as long as this battle wasn't fought by an incorrigible fool, he didn't know how they could lose.

Clearly, Lin Lu was not stupid at all; his ability to lead troops in battle was among the top five, or even the top three, in the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why Zhou Chu was not allowed to lead the troops was twofold. First, Zhou Chu had just returned from Tibet more than a year ago and had been fighting in Tibet for two years. Jiajing did not want Zhou Chu to be too overworked. Second, Jiajing saw that there was less than half a year left of the two-year agreement with Zhou Chu, and he wanted to see Zhou Chu and Lin Yao get married.

Moreover, given Zhou Chu's current contributions to the Ming Dynasty and his current power, Jiajing's decision not to allow him to lead troops is a form of protection for him. If Zhou Chu makes further contributions, Jiajing might still find a way to reward him. But how old is Zhou Chu now? Just over twenty.

At this age, having reached the pinnacle of power, what will happen when Zhou and Chu have nothing left to bestow titles upon or reward?

The principle of slow and steady wins the race was understood by both Jiajing and Zhou Chu, so Zhou Chu was happy to see this scene unfold.

"I accept the decree!"

Lin Lu stepped forward.

"General Lin, just tell me where you need troops, and the Ministry of War will do its best to mobilize them for you."

Wang Xian looked at Lin Lu and said.

"Thank you very much, Lord Wang. I will need your help in the future."

Lin Lu laughed.

"These are all things that the Ministry of War should do. General Lin is being too polite, I'm afraid I'll get upset."

Wang Xian deliberately put on a stern face and said.

"Alright, court is adjourned."

Seeing that the two were actually chatting, Jiajing waved his hand helplessly.

Upon hearing this, everyone left the court.

"My lord, I am afraid that we will not win this battle well. I hope you can give me some guidance."

Lin Lu approached Zhou Chu, somewhat nervously.

Lin Lu did this firstly to show Zhou Chu his loyalty, that he would always be Zhou Chu's subordinate; secondly, to show that even if the emperor appointed him to lead the troops into battle, he would still need Zhou Chu's guidance. In short, he was subtly expressing his attitude to Zhou Chu.

"What are you afraid of? Just take the garrison troops from Datong and the Tiger Legion. You can add any other troops you like. The troops from Datong are unmatched in positional warfare. The Tiger Legion can serve as the vanguard and set off ahead of time. With the Tiger Legion's marching speed, the Yarkand Khanate won't even have time to react before the Tiger Legion reaches their capital. To put it bluntly, the large army is just a decoy for them to see. Blitzkrieg is the fastest way to end the battle."

Zhou Chu smiled.

Upon hearing this, Lin Lu's eyes lit up. He had only intended to express his attitude to Zhou Chu, but he hadn't expected that the strategy Zhou Chu had proposed would be so brilliant. Lin Lu put himself in Zhou Chu's shoes and thought about it. If he were the Khan of the Yarkand Khanate, he would feel a chill run down his spine just thinking about it.

The brilliance of this strategy lies in its ability to both attack and defend. If the Tiger Army's surprise attack fails, they can retreat and rejoin the main force. With firearms, even in a direct confrontation, what defense would the Yarkand Khanate have?

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty of today is not the same as the Ming Dynasty of the past. In the past, the biggest fear in such long-distance expeditions was that they could not be conquered quickly. Once a stalemate was formed, it was extremely disadvantageous to the attacking side, because the supply alone could wear down the Ming Dynasty.

Now that there are trains, supply lines are no longer a problem, and even if it's a protracted war, Lin Lu can afford to wait it out.

With these three layers of insurance, Lin Lu felt much more confident. If he still lost, he might as well just draw his sword and commit suicide.

"Your words are truly enlightening, sir. I now know what to do."

Lin Lu bowed respectfully to Zhou Chu, who accepted the bow without hesitation.

"Lord Zhou's military tactics are truly unpredictable. If I were your enemy, I probably wouldn't be able to sleep soundly."

Wang Xian, who was standing to the side, complimented.

Zhou Chu only said half of what he meant earlier, and he believed that Lin Lu would understand the other half. After all, there were many people around, and it was possible that someone might overhear and leak the information.

However, Zhou Chu dared to say this because he was confident, and there was no one else around him and Lin Lu except for Wang Xian, Yang Yiqing and Yang Shen. It was virtually impossible for these people to leak the secret.

"I hope you will keep this a secret for Zhixin, otherwise this strategy will not work once it is leaked."

Zhou Chu looked at the group and said,

"That's for sure. Lord Zhou is truly a man of both literary and military talent. In terms of leading troops and fighting battles, probably no one in the Ming Dynasty can surpass him. Back then, the Japanese pirates ravaged the coast of the Ming Dynasty for many years, but Lord Zhou only took half a year to completely wipe them out. No one but Lord Zhou could quell the Japanese pirates."

Yang Yiqing couldn't help but praise.

Everyone here understands that the problem of Japanese pirates has never been a simple one. If we only focus on suppressing the pirates, we will never be able to completely eradicate them. To eliminate the pirates, we must first deal with the smuggling groups in Jiangnan. That is the fundamental solution.

Yang Yiqing wondered if anyone else could accomplish this so efficiently. Throughout the entire Ming Dynasty, only Zhou Hengqi had done it.

“Yes, Hengqi, in principle His Majesty should let you lead the troops. However, the capital cannot do without you, and His Majesty cannot do without you either. You can do so much for the Ming Dynasty. If you are just wasting your time leading troops into battle, it would be a loss for the Ming Dynasty and a loss for His Majesty.”

Yang Shen sighed.

Yang Shen's words were sincere, though they did seem to be an attempt to excuse Jiajing.

"Yes, if you, sir, were willing to lead the troops, there would be no place for your subordinates."

Lin Lu hurriedly echoed.

Zhou Chu smiled when he heard this.

"We are all serving the Ming Dynasty. The difficulty in attacking the Yarkand Khanate originally lay only in the supply line. Now that this problem has been solved, the Yarkand Khanate is nothing more than a piece of our Ming Dynasty's possession. It doesn't matter who goes there. Lord Wang, in addition to the 30,000 garrison troops in Datong, we are still short 20,000 troops. I hope that you will transfer some elite troops and generals to Zhixin so as not to hold him back."

Zhou Chu looked at Wang Xian and said.

"Don't worry, Lord Zhou. I personally selected these 20,000 soldiers. They are all top-notch soldiers. I can guarantee that they will not hold General Lin back."

Wang Xian assured.