"Your Highness, let's go..."
On the early morning of April 20th, at the gate of Jixi Fort, among the thousands of Shenyang Zhongwei Zuojun who had been reorganized, only about 400 people were still standing.
On a cart not far away, there were dozens of seriously injured Qianhu soldiers of the Left Army lying on it, as well as an altar of ashes.
This was the fourth day after Zhu Di chased Haragu. Before he could return to Jilin City to rest, his brothers from thousands of households in the Zuo Army could not wait to return to the south.
For them, the more than ten days they spent in Jilin City were unforgettable in their lives. Many of them left behind their colleagues and brothers on this land.
"Go ahead..."
At the gate of the city, Zhu Gaoxu nodded, looked at the altar of ashes, and reminded Jiang Ji, who was currently representing thousands of households in the Zuo Army:
"If there are family members of fallen brothers who are unable to support themselves, let them come to Jilin City wearing the military registration tags of the fallen soldiers. No matter when, the pension field will always be waiting for them."
"Yes!" Jiang Ji lowered his head and bowed, and many soldiers behind him were also infected.
Many of them wanted to stay after experiencing this war, because Zhu Gaoxu's generosity and Jilin Wei's policies were obvious to all.
However, after all, they had entered the military membership of Shenyang Zhongwei early and were military households of Shenyang Zhongwei.
Therefore, they could not defect to Zhu Gaoxu without the imperial court's order.
"Slow down on the way there and pay attention to the injured brother."
After patting Jiang Ji on the shoulder, Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand to indicate that they could leave, and he turned around and walked into Jixi Fort.
Looking at his back, Jiang Ji and the brothers from Qianhu of Zuojun bowed to Zhu Gaoxu one after another.
"Woooooooo..."
At the top of the city, Lin Su, Zhang Chun, Wang Yi and other Bohai Navy brothers who had recovered from their injuries blew the horns and played a war hymn for Jiang Ji and others to return home in triumph.
Listening to the war song and feeling the reward from Zhu Gaoxu on his chest, Jiang Ji and many brothers from thousands of households in Zuojun turned around and left with disappointment and joy.
They were disappointed that they were not soldiers under Zhu Gaoxu, nor could they meet such a generous superior officer as Zhu Gaoxu.
But they were also glad that they survived the battlefield and were able to return to Shenyang City alive to reunite with their relatives.
The only regret is that compared to the team when they came, the team that returned was much smaller.
As they left, Zhu Gaoxu also walked back to the exit of Jixi Fort, preparing to return to Jilin City.
His injuries were still there, so it was Yishiha who helped him mount his horse.
After helping him get on the horse, Yi Shiha also found a draft horse to ride on. At the same time, he stepped forward and said to Zhu Gaoxu:
"Your Highness, the capital of Liaodong in the south has sent a letter. Soldiers, horses and teams have been dispatched to transport food. They will arrive in about half a month."
"I know." Zhu Gaoxu nodded in agreement, but looked ahead.
In front of the dirt post road they were walking on, the wasteland on both sides of the road was being reclaimed by the people of Jilin City who drove thousands of cattle and horses.
Humans are one of the most adaptable animals. A few days ago, many people were immersed in sadness, but now they have devoted themselves to the work of reclamation.
Perhaps only at an ordinary moment in the future, when they see the familiar objects and recall the familiar people, they will feel sad again.
Passing by the fields, many people who were driving their cattle to plow the fields cast their eyes on Zhu Gaoxu and bowed from a distance.
After feeling their respect, Zhu Gaoxu waved in response, and at the same time turned back to Yi Shiha and said:
"When the next batch of food arrives, we should first distribute the pension without any delay."
"Your Highness, don't worry, I know this." Yishiha nodded solemnly, and Zhu Gaoxu turned his head when he saw this.
They sent away Zuojun Qianhu, but in this way, Jilin City's strength was somewhat empty.
Therefore, after returning to Jilin City, Zhu Gaoxu asked people to find Fu Rang and Lin Su.
Expanding the army has undoubtedly become Jilin City's top priority at the moment.
Due to the increase in population in the city, Zhu Gaoxu had much more manpower than before. He asked Fu Rang, Lin Su, Zhang Chun, Wang Yi and others to select soldiers from among the men in the city, and did not force those who were unwilling to join the army.
Regardless of whether they are Jurchens or Han people, as long as they like them, after obtaining personal consent, they will immediately enter the academy to study, learn Mandarin, and participate in drills.
This process was cumbersome and slow. Zhu Gaoxu did not wait for the news that the recruitment was over. Instead, on the fifth day after Zuojun Qianhu left, he received another piece of news that he had been waiting for for a long time.
On April 25, news of Zhu Di's class reached Jilin City and also reached Zhu Gaoxu's ears.
"Going back to Your Highness, Your Highness the King of Yan is leading the troops to the south with the generals at the moment. They need to camp outside Jixi Fort. Therefore, Your Highness the King of Yan ordered your Majesty to come and deliver a message, asking His Highness to order people to build a fort, bury pots and make rice, and prepare food for the people." Reward the soldiers of the three armies!"
In the Chengyun Hall, an official from one hundred households knelt on the ground and bowed, telling Zhu Gaoxu everything that Zhu Di had told him.
"Come back so soon..."
When he heard that Zhu Di was back, Zhu Gaoxu still couldn't believe it.
Based on his understanding of Zhu Di's character, it would have been reasonable for Zhu Di to pursue Haragu for two or three months. However, this time he only pursued Haragu for nine days before returning to Jilin City.
Calculating the time, it is estimated that Zhu Di led his troops to pursue him near the Songhua River on the south bank of Zhaozhou City, and then decided to shift his troops.
While Zhu Gaoxu was thinking, the official from the hundred households also said in a stiff voice: "His Royal Highness King Yan sent someone to deliver a message, asking His Highness to prepare some delicious food. He will arrive at the palace in two hours and wants to have a family banquet with His Highness and the Princess. .”
"Okay!" Zhu Gaoxu nodded, and then asked: "What about the situation of Haragu and Hu Bing?"
"We pursued them to the Songhua River, and they headed northwest. However, our army lacked food and horse supplies, so we had to withdraw." Baihuguan explained:
"Calculated along the way, Hu soldiers should have been killed or injured at least 8,000, and our army has captured more than 16,000 horses."
"That's it..." Zhu Gaoxu was a little disappointed. He originally thought that Zhu Di could kill Harawu, but he didn't expect Harawu to still be able to escape. Not only did he successfully escape in history, but he also managed to survive in this world with his arms broken.
Fortunately, Zhu Di's damage to the Wuliangha guards was large enough. Counting the casualties in Jilin City, more than half of the Wuliangha guards were wiped out this time, which was a devastating blow.
Even better news is that Zhu Di actually captured 16,000 horses.
If this horse is calculated based on Lin Su's probability of selecting a military horse after it is captured, it can at least bring a huge number of at least 5,000 military horses to the Ming army, allowing the Hongwu Dynasty's military horses to increase by one-tenth.
"Lao Zhu will probably be happy after hearing this. If I want some horses, I can only do it early before the news has been sent to Nanjing."
Zhu Gaoxu still wanted to pluck Zhu Di's wool, so he ordered Yishiha beside him:
"For the royal family banquet and the military banquet to reward the troops, all the meat that can be served in the city will be served. In addition, the princess will be prepared. In an hour and a half, she and I will go to the north gate to meet my father."
"Don't worry, Your Highness, I know this." Yi Shiha bowed in agreement, got up and went to take care of things.
Fu Rang stood up when he saw this. When Zhu Gaoxu saw him standing up, he asked doubtfully: "Aren't you going to eat together?"
"Forget it, I don't want to deal with other members of your Zhu family. I'd better go to the military camp to train." Fu Rang shook his head and walked out.
Zhu Gaoxu knew that he had a grudge in his heart, so he could only give additional instructions to Yishiha: "Also prepare meat at the military camp, so don't make your own people suffer."
"Yes..." Yi Shiha agreed, but Fu Rang did not reply. He just raised his hand and waved before walking out of the palace.
Zhu Gaoxu looked at his back and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
The things Lao Zhu did for Zhu Yunwen chilled the hearts of many people.
As he thought this way, he relaxed a lot, got up and left the palace.
However, he was not idle, but went to the armory.
There, thousands of sets of armor and weapons of the Ulyanha people were melted into molten iron and then reforged.
Zhu Gaoxu watched the weapons stained with the blood of his brothers being melted. Although he let out a sigh of relief, it was not particularly smooth after all, and he always felt a little aggrieved.
Perhaps only when he personally leads troops to destroy Wu Liangha's lair will this tone be completely smooth.
With this idea in mind, Zhu Gaoxu stayed in the armory for a long time and watched Hu Bing's armor and weapons being refined into molten iron before walking back to the palace.
But when he came to the gate of the palace, he saw the neatly dressed Guo Yan, leading the maids in the palace and the eunuchs of the Jingjun standing at the gate of the palace, preparing to board a carriage.
Zhu Gaoxu looked at the sundial at the entrance of the palace and realized that it was almost time, so he walked to Guo Yan's side.
"You get in the car, I'll ride over there."
Zhu Gaoxu said to Guo Yan, but Guo Yan worriedly stretched out her hand and put it on his chest: "But your injury..."
"It doesn't affect the horse riding anymore." Zhu Gaoxu turned to the side and motioned for her to get on the car. Guo Yan saw this and didn't delay any longer. After getting on the car, she watched Zhu Gaoxu get on the horse with her own eyes.
After a while, the motorcade drove out of Jilin City and headed towards Jixibao.
Zhu Gaoxu, who was on horseback, thought he had set off early enough, but he didn't expect that they were only a few miles out of the city when he saw more than a hundred cavalry appearing on the dirt post road ahead.
Scattered sounds of horse hooves began to be heard from the front, and everyone was attracted to hear the sound and looked around.
When the cavalry in front approached, everyone saw the Yan Mansion cavalry responsible for clearing the way.
Needless to say, the man surrounded by everyone in the center, riding a tall horse, wearing a fat red coat, with somewhat dark skin and a big beard, was Zhu Di.
Zhu Gaoxu and Guo Yan were looking at Zhu Di, and Zhu Di was also looking at them.
After nearly three years, Zhu Di saw Zhu Gaoxu again, but only dozens of steps away, he felt that this boy had changed too much.
He quietly said to Qiu Fu and Zhu Neng who were on his left: "That guy is the second child? Why does he look taller than me?"
"Your Highness, your Second Highness is already seventeen after all. It's time to grow taller."
"The general feels the same way."
When Qiu Fu saw Zhu Gaoxu, a smile spread across his face unconsciously. Although Zhu Neng had never developed any relationship with Zhu Gaoxu, he at least saw him often, so he agreed with Qiu Fu.
"You don't understand..." Zhu Di said a little uncertainly: "After all, he is my son. Anyway, I feel that this kid has changed too much than before, and I am a little afraid to recognize him."
Zhu Di had seen Zhu Gaoxu greet him too many times when he returned in triumph. Almost every time, it started with Zhu Gaoxu's roar.
Only this time, Zhu Gaoxu sat quietly on the horse like an irrelevant person.
Such a personality gap made Zhu Di unable to accept it for a while.
It's a pity that no matter what he thinks, he can't think of such a thing as rebirth, so he just thinks that Zhu Gaoxu went to the capital and was frightened like this by Lao Zhu.
In Zhu Di's view, this is the only way to make sense.
"Xu..."
"See my father (His Royal Highness King Yan)..."
As time passed, the two parties approached, and Zhu Dice immediately stepped in front of Zhu Gaoxu and his team, and reined in his horse.
On horseback, Zhu Gaoxu also led the guards to bow to Zhu Di one after another.
The father and son dismounted at the same time, their movements were uniform, and their dismounting postures and body movements made them look like they were a family.
"high……"
Zhu Di was quite happy before dismounting, but when he turned over and dismounted, he felt something was wrong.
This discomfort reached its peak when he walked in front of Zhu Gaoxu.
"Mom, why is my second dick so much taller than me..."
Zhu Di was stunned in his heart, but with a cheerful face, he stepped forward to help Zhu Gaoxu, who was bowing again, and patted his arms: "After a few years of Yingtian, he has become much calmer."
While he was commenting, Guo Yan, who was on the carriage over there, also got off the carriage, walked to Zhu Di and saluted slowly: "Daughter-in-law Guo Yan, I have met my father-in-law..."
"Okay, okay..." Hearing the address of father-in-law, Zhu Di smiled from ear to ear and said, "You are the granddaughter of Wu Dinghou and my second daughter-in-law, right?"
Zhu Di's self-identification made Guo Yan speechless for a moment. Before meeting Zhu Di, she had never thought that King Yan, who was so powerful in the north of the country, would actually call himself "I".
Fortunately, after experiencing Zhu Gaoxu, the husband of the county prince who always called himself "I", she became somewhat resistant to Zhu Di who called himself "I".
She saluted again unhurriedly: "It's my daughter-in-law. My daughter-in-law has also heard of my father-in-law's reputation from my grandfather before."
"Haha, okay, okay..." Zhu Di's face was filled with joy. Although he had not yet been able to accept the fact that he had become someone else's father-in-law, and found it a bit strange, this did not prevent him from being happy.
In happiness, his generous nature also showed: "Zhu Neng, choose one thousand military horses and two thousand draft horses from the horses we captured for the second son."
"Yes!" Zhu Neng grinned, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with disposing of the seized items privately.
"Thank you, father-in-law..." Guo Yan's eyes curled up with a smile, like crescent moons.
Zhu Gaoxu on the side also took the opportunity to say: "Lunch has been prepared in the palace. I think you are hungry, father. I will show you the way."
"Okay!" Zhu Di agreed. After all, they were really hungry.
During the days of chasing Haragu, except for a meal of boiled mutton the day before, they had been eating cold rice and dried meat at other times.
Now that I'm in the city, I naturally want to eat delicious hot dishes.
With this in mind, Zhu Di also led the people to get on their horses and headed to Jilin City with Zhu Gaoxu leading the way.
Along the way, while talking to Zhu Gaoxu about the details of the hunt for Haragu, Zhu Di observed Jilin Bay with a burning gaze.
Before entering Jilin Bay, Zhu Di thought that Jilin Bay would be very poor, but he did not expect that every three people here could drive an ox or draft horse to reclaim wasteland at a very fast speed.
In addition, Zhu Di also saw the people who were planting millet, wheat, and beans, as well as the special gray-white canal.
Regarding the water canal, Zhu Di asked Zhu Gaoxu curiously, and Zhu Gaoxu also gave an explanation, saying that it was a building material similar to Sanhe soil, but he did not give the formula.
Zhu Di didn't have that much thought, so after hearing the explanation, he didn't say anything. After all, the construction of the city and the construction of canals were the responsibility of the Sandusi in Peiping and had nothing to do with him, King Yan, so he didn't need to care about these things.
Rather than caring about these things, he was more concerned about his achievements in severely injuring Wu Liangha this time.
"Listening to what you said, our father and son killed almost half of the Hu soldiers in Wuliangha. As a result, the Hu soldiers will not dare to go south for three to five years."
Zhu Di laughed out loud after hearing from Zhu Gaoxu the story and results of his defense of Jixi Fort.
Qiu Fu, who was behind them, also smiled and echoed: "One sect and two generals, if this matter spreads back to the south, I think your majesty will be very happy."
"That's right!" Zhu Di was not polite at all: "I have already said that Gao Xu is just playful and will be fine when he grows up. Now look at..."
Zhu Di proudly patted his son with outstanding abilities, and then said to Zhu Gaoxu:
"You played well this time, but you were a little reckless in the end."
Regarding Zhu Gaoxu's battle, Zhu Di gave some advice as a veteran: "If the armored cavalry does not have light cavalry or infantry to guard both sides, it is best not to charge into the formation. Even if you want to charge into the formation, do not wear a horse armor and charge with armored cavalry. Instead, We abandoned our vests and used our bows and arrows to harass the enemy repeatedly until the enemy's formation was disrupted, then we rushed into the enemy's formation and attacked from both sides."
"Although you are here to surround Wei and rescue Zhao this time, Hu has more soldiers, horses, and people than you. I'm afraid you just left the city, and he got the news and led his troops back to the camp to wait for you."
"If you hadn't led people to set off rockets outside the camp, we might have been buried in the Hu camp before I could send troops."
Zhu Di's tone gradually became heavier as he taught. It was obvious that he was satisfied with the results of Zhu Gaoxu's victory, but not with the process.
Zhu Gaoxu accepted his advice humbly. After all, he knew in his heart that he did not fight very well in this battle.
"You are respected..."
Suddenly, Zhu Di said this. Zhu Gaoxu looked around and saw many people saluting him as before.
"It just gives the people a way to survive."
Zhu Gaoxu spoke thoughtfully, and this answer made Zhu Di sigh at how much Zhu Gaoxu had changed.
In the past, Zhu Gaoxu would not say anything about the common people. When he opened his mouth, he would use mud-legged words or other derogatory words about the common people.
"This Yingtian, my second son is not in vain..."
After sighing in his heart for a moment, Zhu Di also arrived in silence with Zhu Gaoxu at the north gate of Jilin City.
After entering Jilin City, more people bowed and saluted Zhu Gaoxu, which shocked Zhu Di, Zhu Neng, Qiu Fu and others.
Not mentioning Zhu Gaoxu's methods in this battle, just managing people's livelihood and making the people's hearts fall in love with him, everyone can't help but admire him, because their eyes cannot deceive them.
Among the people who saluted, there were a large number of Jurchens.
To be able to convince the Jurchens like this is enough to show that Zhu Gaoxu treats the people of Jilin City well.
Thinking of this, Zhu Di felt even more distressed.
"If the second brother goes to Peiping, there won't be so many Tatar rebellions in Peiping..."
Zhu Di felt extremely uncomfortable, but compared to the discomfort in his heart, the hunger in his belly made him unable to muster any strength.
"Father, we have arrived at the palace."
Zhu Gaoxu's voice sounded, and Zhu Di immediately swallowed when he heard the words, as if something delicious would appear soon.
But he looked around and didn't see the gate tower of the palace.
"In..." Following what Zhu Gaoxu pointed out, Zhu Di saw the shabby Bohai Palace which was not as good as Qianhu Palace.
"Is this your palace?"
Not only Zhu Di, it should be said that everyone who came with him felt shabby and shocked by the short Bohai Palace.
"It's a bit small, but there aren't many people in the kid's house, so it's just a makeshift place to live in..."
Zhu Gaoxu smiled awkwardly. It was probably only at this time that the shabby Bohai Palace would make him feel embarrassed.
"This palace is too small..." Zhu Di was a little disgusted, but more felt sorry for Zhu Gaoxu.
He got off his horse and walked straight into the palace. Seeing that the shabby main room actually had a plaque of 'Chengyun Hall' hanging on it, Zhu Di felt that Zhu Gaoxu's life was not easy.
"If your mother sees this palace of yours, I'm afraid she'll have to say that I'm not interested in you anymore."
Zhu Di sighed, looked at the guards and slaves in the mansion, and continued:
"You don't have many servants. I'll have someone bring some from Peiping someday."
Saying this, Zhu Di also shouted behind him: "Ma He! Remember to pick some young and capable slaves to give to the second child."
"Slave, take your orders!"
Among the crowd, a general with a tall nose and deep eyes bowed in response. Zhu Gaoxu also followed Zhu Di's gaze and met the general's eyes.
He is about twenty-six or seven years old, and he is the only one among them who does not have a beard.
"This is the Zheng He of the future..."
Looking at Ma He, Zhu Gaoxu searched for the memory of his predecessor.
In the memories of his predecessor, he and Zheng He were often together, but mostly when they were practicing martial arts and riding horses and archery.
"You really rely on your love of martial arts to get into the direct lineage of Prince Yan's palace."
Recalling the memories of his predecessor, Zhu Gaoxu himself couldn't help but sigh that the person in his predecessor relied solely on martial arts to make friends.
It's a pity that the people he had befriended, whether it was Qiu Fu, Zhu Neng, or Zhang Yu, all of them died in battle or died of illness. The remaining three or five young generals were directly killed by Zhu Di with a single order, causing the predecessor to be destroyed. He became a loner and was manipulated by Zhu Zhanji at will.
But that was just the predecessor, and I would not make such a low-level mistake.
"What food have you prepared? I chased that barbarian all day and all night, and I'm so hungry."
Zhu Di walked towards the Chengyun Hall. Zhu Gaoxu led Guo Yan half a step behind and said at the same time: "Jilin City's products are not rich, but there are some game. I don't know if you are used to eating them."
"Is there anything I'm not used to eating? I even ate horse meat when I was climbing on the ice and sleeping in the snow. Most people would say it's not delicious, but I ate it deliciously."
Zhu Di happily talked about his glorious deeds back then, but at the same time he couldn't help feeling disgusted after walking into Chengyun Hall:
"How come your Chengyun Hall is not as big as the fodder storage space at home in Beiping..."
(End of chapter)
