Dongsheng, where Fu Youde's army is stationed.
Inside the handsome tent, Fu Youde was sitting and discussing with his son. There is no saying in the Ming Dynasty that father and son cannot work together as generals. On the contrary, it strongly advocates "brothers fighting tigers, father and son go into battle". Even if your son breaks the law, parents cannot report it. Instead, the right way is to hide it from each other.
Having a son to lead the army is very beneficial to the control of the army.
"Dad, I just got the news that King Yan has led his troops out of seclusion again." Fu Zhong said with a worried look.
Fu Youde knew very well why he was sent by the emperor to train troops here. In the past, although it was ostensibly to guard against the Meng Yuan people going south, it was actually to monitor King Yan. Even Lan Yu in Datong is like this.
It's just that Lan Yu is warlike and thinks about how to pacify the grassland all day long, and doesn't pay enough attention to King Yan.
But Fu Youde sent people to keep an eye on King Yan from beginning to end, and he sent his own son. Such a secret and important matter can only be rest assured if it is left to his own son Fu Youde.
"How many times has King Yan been out of seclusion this year?" Fu Youde looked hesitant and asked casually.
Fu Zhong quickly replied: "This is already the third time, and it is said that every time King Yan went out to clear out the remaining Mongolian people, he still suffered a lot of losses every time. The Tatar tribe and the Oara tribe were both destroyed by Handu Now, there is not even a larger tribe on the grassland, at most there are some small tribes. Even so, he can still lose his troops. Father, do you think his previous reputation is too exaggerated?"
Fu Zhong married Princess Shouchun, so he and Han Du were shouldering the burden. Moreover, every year when congratulating the late emperor on his birthday, he and Han Du would have a drink and chat. Naturally, the two of them became very attached to each other.
At this moment, Fu Zhong would naturally speak for Han Du.
Fu Youde lowered his head in thought, then shook his head slightly after a moment, "King Yan is not as simple as you think. He once led troops under our command. He is a brave and resourceful man. He is best at using cavalry. Once a war begins, It is as swift and violent as a blazing fire, and few people can block such power."
"Is King Yan so powerful?" Fu Zhong said in a somewhat disbelieving tone.
Fu Youde nodded solemnly, "Even if he is so powerful, you are no match for him."
Um... Although Fu Zhong was a little dissatisfied with his father's move to gain other people's ambitions and destroy his own prestige, he still knew that his father would not lie to him on such a matter, lest it harm him in the future.
"But, if that's the case, then why does King Yan still lose troops and generals every time he goes out?" Fu Zhong was very puzzled. If King Yan's marching and fighting were really as powerful as his father said, then with the 80,000 people in King Yan's palace alone, The cavalry won’t lose troops and generals every time, right?
Fu Youde didn't understand what was going on for a while. Faced with his son's ardent expectations, he hesitated for a while and said, "Perhaps His Highness King Yan wants to train his troops."
If there are new soldiers, we want to train them into elite soldiers as quickly as possible. The best way is not to train the recruits harshly, but to drag them onto the battlefield. After a battle, as long as they have seen blood in person, they will be considered elite soldiers.
Of course, this method is so simple and the effect is so good. If there were no shortcomings, I am afraid that all military training in the Ming Dynasty would have been changed to this way.
Although this method is very effective, the new recruits have not experienced battlefield fighting and are seriously lacking in experience. After a training is completed, even casually, there will be about 30% casualties. Even if you are unlucky, you may suffer 50% casualties.
Faced with such a strange loss of King Yan, Fu Youde had no other ideas except coming up with this reason.
...
Beiping, Prince Yan's Mansion.
In front of his soldiers, Zhu Di was still the highly prestigious King of Yan in the past. But once he returned to Prince Yan's Mansion and hid alone, he could see the decadence all over him.
The precious liquor made the gods drunk. Zhu Di took the wine bottle and poured it down his throat one after another.
Today, Zhu Di was hiding in the palace drinking alone.
In a daze, he actually saw someone sitting in front of him
. He shook his head and tried to open his eyes wide before he could recognize the person clearly.
Zhu Di smiled dejectedly, pointed at the visitor and mocked: "Monk, can you still say that destiny is my king's?"
"Since the prince asked the poor monk to say it, then the poor monk said that the destiny still lies with the prince." Yao Guangxiao, dressed in black, sat there quietly, twisting rosary beads in his hand. When there were openings all over his body, everything else remained motionless.
"Hahaha..." Zhu Di couldn't help laughing. I'm afraid only he knows how much sadness and pain there was.
Thinking back then, when he first heard the monk say these words, his inner ambition suddenly surged to the highest level.
He is the biological son of his father, the King of Yan, who holds a heavy army. His father even told him that he was most similar to his father. Compared to the prince, although he respected him, he didn't take it seriously. In his opinion, the prince's temperament is too weak and it is difficult for him to be dignified.
But now, Zhu Di couldn't even laugh even if he wanted to. Only a few years after Zhu Biao ascended the throne, he was able to mobilize a large army and wipe out two powerful steppe tribes, the Tatars and the Oaras, in a single battle.
Zhu Di thinks very highly of himself, but he can only deal with one of them with some confidence. If he fights two of them, he will definitely die.
The process of Handu's destruction of the Tatars and Oara was repeatedly studied by Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao. In the end, the two people came to an unprecedented conclusion, that is, Han Du had great luck and defeated his opponent completely through the right time and location.
But no matter what, the grassland is peaceful. Now the imperial court has begun to divide the grass carp into clubs. Anyone who is smart can know that if all the Ming Dynasty guards are built, the entire grassland will no longer pose the slightest threat to the Ming Dynasty. It may even become a help to Ming Dynasty in turn.
In one fell swoop, Zhu Biao pacified the grasslands that he had fought with the Central Plains for thousands of years. With such great achievements in hand, what could he, Zhu Di, do to replace them?
Therefore, Zhu Di's words, which Zhu Di was secretly happy about, now sounded extremely harsh, as if he were laughing at him.
"Your Majesty is in poor health, and he vomited blood a while ago." Yao Guangxiao said lightly.
When Zhu Di heard this, he raised his head suddenly, his eyes flashing with light.
The next moment, the light in Zhu Di's eyes disappeared. He returned to his decadent look and said lazily: "So what? The emperor has three sons. Zhu Yunzhen is already twenty-five, and Zhu Yunye is sixteen. Not to mention that the emperor is slightly itchy. Even if If he dies now, the great position will not be passed to me."
Yao Guangxiao was unmoved at all, and nodded expressionlessly: "If it's about status, then of course it won't fall on the prince, but the prince can rule over you!"
"Monk, what do you mean?" Zhu Di suddenly glanced at Yao Guangxiao.
Yao Guangxiao continued to explain: "If the state has female ministers, the kings can raise troops to clear the emperor's side. This is the national policy personally set by Emperor Taizu Gao. Once there is a change in the capital, the prince can definitely say that Han Du is the female minister beside the emperor and can occupy We raise an army in the name of this great cause."
Having a righteous name and not having a righteous name are completely different things.
It can be said that Yao Guangxiao's words solved Zhu Di's long-standing worry. That is, he has no righteousness and is afraid that after raising an army, he will not only lose the support of everyone, but will be attacked by everyone. If this is the case, then raising an army is a dead end.
Seeing that Zhu Di was silent without saying a word, Yao Guangxiao rolled his eyes and said deliberately angrily: "What? Is the prince afraid of Han Du? That's right. After all, Han Du defeated the Tatar and Oara tribes and completely pacified the grassland. Now He has the potential to become the first general of the Ming Dynasty. The prince is worried, and the poor monk understands."
When Zhu Di heard this, he sneered disdainfully and said: "Will I be afraid of Han Du? What nonsense is the number one general in the Ming Dynasty? It's just him bragging. If I fight against him, he will be defeated by me. hand."
"Then what else does the prince have to worry about?" Yao Guangxiao had a rare smile on his face.
After Zhu Di heard this, his expression gradually became serious, and he sighed: "Speaking of which, there are really people that I am afraid of."
"Who?" Yao Guangxiao was stunned for a moment.
.
Zhu Di stared straight at Yao Guangxiao, and slowly uttered three words, "Fu, You, De!"
"Yingguo Duke Fu Youde?" Yao Guangxiao was full of surprise, "The poor monk thought that the prince would talk about blue jade, how could it be Fu Youde?"
"Lanyu?" Zhu Di smiled softly, straightened his back, and said calmly: "Although Lan Yu is brave enough, his strategy is not enough. If I were to face him, I would be at least 60% certain to defeat him. But Fu Youde is different. Monk, you have not been under his command, so you don't know how powerful he is. When I went to the army, I was appointed by my father to learn how to march and fight under Fu Youde."
Yao Guangxiao's expression also changed. He claimed to be well-informed and knew the capital well. Even everything about Han Du was explored by him, but he never noticed Fu Youde.
Now being reminded by King Yan, Yao Guangxiao suddenly broke into a cold sweat.
He opened his mouth and asked in a dry voice: "May I ask your lord, how powerful is Fu Youde...?"
Zhu Di glanced at Yao Guangxiao. He had long known that there was more than one person behind Yao Guangxiao, and that these people were not simple-minded. Moreover, Yao Guangxiao usually acts like he has everything under his control. If Zhu Di wants to control him from a high position, he must break his self-confidence.
Looking away, Zhu Di's eyes wandered, as if he was lost in memories, "How powerful is Fu Youde? This is what I once asked my father."
Glancing at Yao Guangxiao, I saw that at this moment, he no longer looked like an old god. Instead, he looked like a normal person, looking at him expectantly, wanting to get the answer from his own mouth.
Zhu Di smiled slightly in his heart, and then sighed: "My father once said that Fu Youde is only under King Kaiping in terms of being able to conquer and fight well, but in terms of bravery... he must be the first!"
