"this……"
In the Wuying Palace, Zhu Yunwen's eyes were on the map outside the pass, and his current target was the vassal king in the north. However, facing this matter, everyone was a little hesitant.
Even Qi Tai, who historically advocated the reduction of the Yan vassal, was a little hesitant at the moment, because now there was more than just Zhu Di in the Yan vassal, and he had to consider the Bohai King of Jilin.
Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu had 35,000 guards alone, which was already a considerable force.
Moreover, Zhu Di has always had prestige in the three capital divisions such as Beiping and Liaodong, and has many old troops. He himself currently controls more than 200,000 soldiers and horses in the three capital divisions. If this military power is confiscated, who dares to attack him first.
"We can first take back the military power of the three capital divisions, then exchange the old military attachés with the King of Yan, and transfer the King of Yan and the King of Bohai back to their fiefdoms. In this way, the military power of the three capital divisions such as Beiping and Liaodong can be recovered."
Qi Tai suggested, but Zhu Yunwen frowned slightly when he heard the words: "How long will it take?"
"The long term can be one year, the short term can be half a year." Qi Tai bowed and replied, but Huang Zicheng suddenly said: "How about stripping away the military power of the King of Yan and starting to reduce the vassal status of the guilty clan at the same time?"
"No!" Qi Tai said loudly: "If we kill other vassal kings first, it will definitely arouse King Yan's vigilance. King Yan must be killed first!"
"The King of Yan has merits and demerits. If he takes the lead in undermining the King of Yan, it will be unjustifiable both emotionally and rationally, and the court will lose its justice!" Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai started to argue.
His words made Qi Tai speechless. After all, among the Hongwu scholars, Zhu Di, Zhu Quan, Zhu Chun, Zhu Zhen and others can be said to be sage representatives.
If you really want to learn the famous Kie Fan, you have more choices.
Not to mention the brutal Qin King Zhu Xi and the Jin King Zhu Fan who were captured by Che Li, but the other vassal kings are not clean either.
King Zhu Zhu of Zhou shot and killed the school captain of the Yiwei Department of his government. King Zhu Su of Qi killed the school captains who commanded thousands of households and their entire families, killing 482 people in total.
King Zhu Tan of Lu killed the commander of Huai'an, and King Zhu Gui privately executed Ma Hu for refusing to hand him over.
There were also three guards who were hammered and beaten to death, Su Wang Zhu Mei who was secretly accepted by Hami, and Min Wang Zhu Mei who was good at collecting the seals of various officials and killing officials and people.
Among Zhu Yuanzhang's twenty-six sons, there are five who have violated the "Law of the Ming Dynasty" and have famous teachers, and they are still alive. Therefore, we can start with these five people to occupy the great righteousness.
Qi Tai didn't really believe in such things as righteousness. After all, they were the imperial court and they themselves represented righteousness.
But when faced with Huang Zicheng's words, he didn't know how to convince him.
After a moment, he slowly said: "If you attack the weak vassals first, you will lose your confidence and make some vassal kings think that the court is bullying the weak and afraid of the strong."
"Therefore, we cannot attack weak vassals first!" Huang Zicheng actually agreed with Qi Tai's words, but his next words made Qi Tai's blood pressure soar.
"Your Majesty, the King of Zhou should be killed first!" Huang Zicheng bowed to Zhu Yunwen and explained at the same time: "The King of Zhou has a precedent of violating the law, and the imperial court has great righteousness in cutting vassals. Moreover, King Zhou also learned about the death of Emperor Daxing. , the person who took the lead in transferring the pastoral guards back to the fiefdom is enough to prove that he has ulterior motives."
"In addition, King Zhou and King Yan are brothers from the same mother. If King Yan is attacked first, King Yan will launch an army to rebel, and King Zhou will respond in Kaifeng. At that time, the court will face a three-party attack."
"Absurd!" After listening to Huang Zicheng's ignorant words, Qi Tai objected:
"Although the bodyguards of the King of Zhou are ninety-nine, the King of Zhou himself is not strong in martial arts. The ones the court should be wary of should be the vassal kings such as Yan, Qi, Xiang, Dai, Min, Su, Chu and Bohai."
Qi Tai knew very well which of Zhu Yuanzhang's sons was good at marching and fighting, so he named those who could raise troops with guards and pose a threat to the court.
"The King of Xiang and the King of Chu are sitting in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. If they have any objections, they can reach Nanjing in just a few days."
"The King of Qi is close to the canal. If he plans to seize Shuicicang along the Jiangbei Canal, it will be difficult for the court to deal with the northern vassals."
Qi Tai made it very clear, but although he was pragmatic, he was not good at debating. Therefore, after hearing his suggestion, Huang Zicheng used his words to say:
"According to this, we should first eliminate the four vassals that can threaten the capital, such as Zhou, Qi, Xiang, and Chu."
"The King of Yan is meritorious and virtuous, and he is now the leader of all the vassals. If he is provoked to rebel, then he will incite all the vassals and cause all the vassals to rebel. Wouldn't it mean that the world will be in chaos?"
"Therefore, I think we should first start cutting down the vassals in the Central Plains and Huguang, so as to ensure that King Yan is isolated and helpless."
"Your Majesty, no!" Qi Tai spoke loudly.
Facing the two of them, Zhu Yunwen felt that it made sense. Because of Zhu Gaoxu, his original intention was to cut down Yan Fan first and solve Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu together.
But now from what Huang Zicheng said, it is indeed true that if Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu were to rebel, it would most likely lead to rebellion among all the vassals in the world.
By that time, I'm afraid I will be very busy.
After thinking about everything clearly, Zhu Yunwen had to put aside his personal emotions and said to the three of them: "What the two gentlemen said is reasonable, but I have made up my mind. I will start with Zhou Fan first, clean up the Central Plains and Huguang area, and then start to the Central Plains and Huguang area. Yan Fan."
"Your Majesty, this may arouse the vigilance of the Qin, Jin, Yan, Ningchu and other vassals!"
Qi Tai spoke worriedly, but Zhu Yunwen said calmly: "We can test their attitude through Zhou Fan."
Zhu Yunwen did not take the vassals seriously. After all, even if the nineteen vassal kings who had already established the vassal were all counted together, they only had more than 200,000 soldiers and horses, not to mention that they were scattered all over the place.
Therefore, what he is really worried about is Yan Fan, who controls the troops of Sandu Division. Therefore, testing the mind of his good fourth uncle is a step he must take.
"The matter of Zhou Fan will be left to Mr. Huang. Okay, you all should stand down!"
Zhu Yunwen returned to his seat and sat down. Seeing him like this, Qi Tai could only sigh and return the favor, turned around and left, but Huang Zicheng and Bao Zhao left the place with happy brows.
Soon, the plot against Zhou Wang Zhu Ju began to be carried out.
At the same time, Tang Qi, who delivered the news, also began to spread the news about the death of the previous emperor, the succession of the new emperor, and the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty and the Wen Dynasty to the three provinces.
In this process, Zhu Yunwen established the recommendation law, which made the southern officials who occupied more than 70% of the civil service seats overjoyed and recommended talented people from the south.
As soon as Zhu Yunwen came to power, many things began to change, and all of this was still unknown to the army outside the pass.
"Xilulu!!"
"Good horse, don't move, let me love you!"
In Wulianghatu City, Zhu Di was taming a wild horse that Zhu Neng, Zhang Yu and others brought back from the north.
Not only him, people such as Ping An, Liu Zhen, Bu Wan and others also used their skills to tame other wild horses one by one.
The generals did not suspect anything because the army had not been on patrol for so long, because Tangqi who went north had not found any trace of the Ulliangha tribes.
Of course, they didn't know that Zhu Neng, Qiu Fu and others who were in charge of Tangqi did not go north to reach Wuliangha Mountain. They asked the Yanfu cavalry to leave the city every few days and take carts of food northward.
However, this army only went north for a few dozen miles, then turned east and delivered the grain to the Bohai Navy on the Wen River.
For example, two thousand Yanfu cavalry walked out of the camp outside the city again, and standing on an arrow tower in Wuliangha Tu City, Zhu Gaoxu also watched them leave, and at the same time asked: "How much food has been transported? "
"Sixty-four thousand stones, many people in the army have begun to doubt it."
Standing behind Zhu Gaoxu, Qiu Fu from the Yan Mansion responded solemnly, and Wang Yi next to him also said: "The granaries in Zhaozhou are also full."
"In that case, let's stop for now."
Zhu Gaoxu spoke slowly and walked towards the city.
Qiu Fu and Wang Yi looked at each other with relief on their faces.
Qiu Fu was worried that Zhu Gaoxu would continue to hold Zhu Di hostage, while Wang Yi felt that he could finally relieve himself of his burden.
"Xilulu!!"
The wild wild horse tossed Zhu Di around, but he had a great time, stubbornly sitting on the saddleless horse, vowing to conquer the brown wild horse.
"His Royal Highness Bohai!"
Zhu Gaoxu got off the horse track, and Liu Zhen, who had a good impression of him in the army, greeted him. On the contrary, Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng from the Yan Mansion looked embarrassed.
Liu Zhen and others could freely enter and exit Ulangha Tu City, so they naturally would not notice that Zhu Di, who was free in the city, had never left the city.
However, as Zhu Di's subordinates, Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng knew that their second highness had held their own highness hostage, so they were naturally embarrassed.
"Boy, this horse is really hard to tame!"
I don't know if Zhu Di pretended not to care or if he really didn't care. In short, facing the current situation, he could still greet Zhu Gaoxu happily.
"The city is so small that we can't tame it. How about riding it out of the city?"
Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth slowly with a smile on his face.
As soon as he said these words, Zhu Di was stunned for a moment, so he was almost thrown off the horse by the wild horse.
With quick eyes and quick hands, Zhu Gaoxu grabbed the reins with one hand and forcefully pulled the wild horse back to the ground. Then he released the reins and let Zhu Di continue to tame it.
This scene made Liu Zhen and others stunned, but before they could react, the wild horse actually wanted to hit Zhu Gaoxu.
"Hey!!"
Zhu Di was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat. He moved his hands slowly and tried to restrain the wild horse, but it was too late.
Facing this six to seven hundred pound wild horse, Zhu Gaoxu turned slightly sideways and grabbed its neck directly. His body sank, and it rushed forward a few steps before it could no longer move forward.
"Good strength!"
Guo Ying, who was walking from a distance, saw this scene and immediately praised it.
After Zhu Di came to his senses, he also got off the horse and wiped the non-existent cold sweat on his forehead: "Good boy, you are so strong now."
"Xilulu!!"
Feeling Zhu Di get off his back, Ye Ye began to feel that he could compete with Zhu Gaoxu again, even if he had to break free from his two iron-like hands.
But before it could react, Zhu Gaoxu used all his strength and threw it to the ground, causing dust to fly.
Zhu Gaoxu held it down with one leg. When it struggled out of strength, he released his leg and pulled it up by the reins.
The six to seven hundred pound wild horse looked like a slightly larger native dog in front of him, unable to make any waves at all.
That strength made many soldiers and generals present marvel in admiration, and Zhu Di personally touched Zhu Gaoxu's arms.
"You don't have big arms, how can you be so strong?"
Zhu Di, who was nearly a head shorter than Zhu Gaoxu, sighed. At the same time, Guo Ying also came over and sighed: "Even the King of Kaiping back then had never seen such a brave man."
"How many kilograms of long soldiers can you make, how many kilograms of powerful bows can you shoot, and how many kilograms of training stones can you lift now?"
Zhu Gaoxu naturally wanted to answer Guo Ying's question, and he explained in a matter-of-fact manner: "The 24-jin long soldier can shoot a 200-jin strong bow and lift a 400-jin martial arts stone."
"Really?" Guo Ying said in surprise. Although he knew that Zhu Gaoxu was a strong general, he had never seen a strong man who could draw a 200-pound bow.
Even Chang Yuchun and others can only draw a bow of 150 kilograms. As for the training stone used to practice strength, it only weighs about 300 kilograms. When using a long weapon, it can only weigh 178 kilograms.
Guo Ying would believe Zhu Gaoxu's records if they were presented alone, but when combined together, Guo Ying would not believe them.
Even Qu Neng, the most powerful general of the Ming Dynasty, is nothing more than that. Is it possible that Zhu Gaoxu can still compare with Qu Neng?
"Haha, that's right..."
Faced with Guo Ying's doubts, Zhu Gaoxu did not explain anything, because he knew that he would have many opportunities to show off in the future.
He turned to look at Zhu Di next to him, only to see Zhu Di comforting the wild horse that he had just knocked down.
After his own lessons, the wild horse was very obedient, and Zhu Di took advantage of it.
"Second brother, I'm going out of town for a walk."
Feeling the gaze, Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu met each other's eyes. At the same time, he thought of what Zhu Gaoxu just said and spoke tentatively.
Seeing Zhu Gaoxu nodding, Zhu Di felt uneasy.
He remembered that the second child said that when he was released, it would probably be the time when his father died and his eldest nephew came to the throne.
So now that he is letting himself out, does he represent his father...
Zhu Di's mood suddenly worsened. He got on the wild horse and galloped away without a saddle.
Seeing him galloping out of the city, Wang Yi, who had already given instructions at the city gate, led Gan Yue and others to withdraw from the horse.
At this moment, Zhu Di rushed out of Wuliangha Tu City as he wished, but he was in a terrible mood.
He wanted to know what was going on in the south, so shortly after leaving the city, he rode back again, came to Zhu Gaoxu, and dismounted.
"On this patrol, the main force of Ulyanha was not found. If we continue to stay, it will be a waste of food and fodder. Why not withdraw our troops and go out to patrol the north next year?"
Although Zhu Di was talking to Guo Ying and others, his eyes were on Zhu Gaoxu from time to time.
In the eyes of Guo Ying and others, such a conspicuous behavior was nothing more than Zhu Di's love for Zhu Gaoxu.
"Indeed, the army has been out for more than a month and has still found nothing. We should withdraw our troops early and return to the division to reserve food and grass for the next year's patrol."
Guo Ying spoke in agreement, but Zhu Gaoxu did not interrupt.
At this moment, Zhu Gaoxu was very calm, as if all foreign affairs had nothing to do with him.
The calmer he was, the more scared Zhu Di became.
"Call the generals to come!"
Zhu Di gave instructions to Zhang Yu, Qiu Fu, and Zhu Neng who were walking up to the side. Hearing the words, the three of them also glanced at Zhu Gaoxu subconsciously.
Such behavior finally made Guo Ying notice something was wrong, but he didn't think much about it.
"Wu Dinghou, let's go and discuss matters with me."
Zhu Di's words interrupted Guo Ying's thoughts. He nodded and turned around to follow Zhu Di, but he glanced back at Zhu Gaoxu in the middle.
But to his expectation, Zhu Di did not rush Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaoxu had no intention of following.
"What are these father and son trying to do..."
Guo Ying was confused, but after Zhu Gaoxu watched them walk away, he gave Wang Yi instructions as he came from the city gate:
"If nothing else happens, we will withdraw our troops and return tomorrow. Go find Yang Zhan, Lin Su and the brothers in person and ask them to come to my place for a meal in the evening."
"Yes!" Wang Yi bowed in agreement, walked over and then walked back.
Watching him leave, Zhu Gaoxu also slowly raised his head, looking at the dazzling sunlight with mixed feelings in his heart.
"It's May 28th now. Grandpa, you should have been buried..."
"I just don't know if you would regret it if you knew what Zhu Yunwen did."
Zhu Gaoxu murmured in his heart. After standing for a few minutes, he turned and walked towards the wooden house where he rested.
He had no intention of participating in the generals' discussions, because he knew that they had nothing to do with him.
He failed to persuade Zhu Di to raise troops, but he had anticipated all this. Fortunately, he obtained more than 60,000 shi of food from Zhu Di.
Counting this batch of grain, even if Yang Bin remained unmoved, he would still have enough grain to last until July next year.
If we save a little on rations, there should be no problem until next winter.
As long as he successfully enters Liaodong before winter, he can survive for another year with the reserve warehouse of Liaodong Dusi...
When Zhu Gaoxu was thinking like this, a war in western Yunnan, thousands of miles away, had just ended.
Sunlight shines on the battlefield through thick dark clouds. In the tropical rain forest of western Yunnan, corpses lie in front of a stone village. The entire stone wall of the stone village was damaged by stone bullets the size of fists.
The battlefield was filled with a strong smell of sulfur and blood, while the Shizhai City was filled with corpses of Lucchuan soldiers wearing copper and iron armor, as well as Lucchuan flags broken on the ground.
Outside the city, tens of thousands of people were dragging corpses and burning them together.
Walking on the battlefield where blood was everywhere, Muchun, who was wearing bright armor, looked around, his eyes full of vigilance.
Not long after, the sound of horse hoofbeats sounded, and three tall figures came to Muchun at the lead. Qu Neng, the leader, dismounted and cursed fiercely: "These bandits from the southwest have cost us more than two thousand brothers for nothing! "
Qu Neng reported his casualties, but Muchun rubbed his temples tiredly: "How about capturing them?"
"At least 16,000 people were beheaded and more than 70,000 people were captured." Qu Yu said, but Qu Tao said viciously: "Marquis Xiping, why not kill all 70,000 people so that we can pay homage to the souls of our brothers in heaven!"
"No..." Although Muchun's voice was small, his tone was firm.
"Kongtong Stronghold has been breached. In addition to the previously breached Jinghan Stronghold, more than half of the chieftains in Daoganmeng, Luchuan and other places have been killed and captured by our army. Now Yun Jiemu may not even have 10,000 soldiers and horses. It’s hard to put together.”
"Then what are you waiting for?" When Qu Neng heard that Yun Jiemu was empty, he immediately asked for orders: "I am willing to be the vanguard and capture Yun Jiemu for the army!"
"Not yet." Mu Chun shook his head: "Our army is deep in the army and we are running out of food and grass. The reason why I don't kill the 70,000 people captured now is because I want them to go to Yongchang to transport food for our army."
Although the distance from Yongchang to Kongtong is only more than 400 miles, the mountain road is rugged and there is only one five-foot road, making it difficult to transport grain and grass.
Even though Xu Huizu had mobilized troops to open up a road, this road could not be widened overnight.
Taking Kongtong Village can only allow the Ming army to barely hold on for another half month.
Muchun looked at the virgin forest around him and felt helpless.
Although there are various anti-miasma measures written by Zhu Gaoxu, this time when the army went deep into Luchuan, many brothers still left because they were not accustomed to the acclimatization and were infected with miasma.
Although Muchun was not infected with the miasma, he was currently mentally and physically exhausted.
"Hou Xiping!!"
Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves and shouts suddenly came from the battlefield. Muchun turned his head to look, and soon found the figure of Gu Cheng coming on horseback on the battlefield.
Gu Cheng also found him, so he rode over with a serious look on his face.
Looking at his appearance, Muchun had a bad feeling in his heart.
"What's wrong?" He was uneasy, but he still raised his spirits to ask.
"There has been a change in the capital. Wei Guogong asked us to destroy Kongtong Village and then withdraw to Jinghan Village. He is already on the way from Yongchang to Jinghan Village."
Gu Cheng didn't know what happened in the capital, but judging from what was said in the "Di Bao" a month ago that "the emperor was not hesitant", I am afraid that this matter was related to the inner court.
"Instruct the three armies to burn down Kongtong Stronghold and withdraw to Jinghan Stronghold at Mao tomorrow!"
After Muchun heard about the changes in the capital, his uneasiness reached its peak. He gave orders to Qu Neng and his son, and at the same time walked towards the camp.
After all, Qu Neng and his son had experienced four major cases, and they knew very well that once there were changes in the capital, their fate would change. Therefore, they no longer proposed killing the prisoners, but led people to burn down Kongtong in a short time. village, and at the same time conveyed the military order to withdraw at Mao tomorrow.
It was night and the Ming army was very busy, but even so, the 30,000 Ming army escorted 70,000 prisoners back to Jinghanzhai early the next morning.
For two days in a row, when they returned to Jinghan Village, the travel-worn Xu Huizu was already waiting for them in Jinghan Village.
Under the leadership of Muchun, the anxious generals walked into the chieftain's mansion in Jinghan Village, and saw Xu Huizu, whose eyes were bloodshot and had many mud spots on his body.
Seeing everyone, Xu Huizu sighed and said, "Dao Gan Meng sent an envoy to ask for peace, and I have agreed."
After everyone sat down, Xu Huizu gave everyone a "surprise". However, everyone knew that Xu Huizu could not agree to Dao Ganmeng's request for peace without any reason, so they were all waiting for his next words.
Facing everyone's gaze, Xu Huizu glanced at everyone.
Muchun, Qu Neng, Qu Yu, Qu Tao, He Fu, Gu Cheng...
Looking at these famous generals in the southwest, Xu Huizu put his hand on his forehead and said painfully: "The late emperor passed away on the tenth day of the fifth lunar month, the grandson ascended the throne, and he will be replaced by Yuan Jianwen next year..."
"What?!" After hearing Xu Huizu's words, Gu Cheng, He Fu, Qu Neng and his son stood up one after another, as if falling into an ice cave.
They could still be surprised, but Muchun felt his eyes darken after hearing that the emperor who loved him passed away.
He failed to stand up and fell down. Fortunately, Qu Neng behind him quickly caught him with his quick hands and eyes.
After taking a few breaths, Muchun said painfully: "Are you sure?"
Muchun knew what he was asking, but when he saw Xu Huizu nodding heavily, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
He couldn't cry, but something seemed to be blocked in his heart, making him very uncomfortable.
"Your Majesty..."
"Fengtian Jingnan Ji": In the fifth month of the thirty-first year, Taizu died, the emperor's grandson ascended the throne, and the kings were ordered to visit the country and not to go to the capital. At that time, he knew that the king respected his subordinates and supported many soldiers, but he did many things illegal. Jianwen Jun accepted the plan of Qitai and Huang Zicheng, and wanted to eliminate them due to circumstances. Fearing that the king of Yan was strong, he did not take action, so he first destroyed the king of Zhou in order to draw Yan away.
"Bohai Chronicles": In the fifth month of the thirty-first year, Taizu died. The emperor's grandson Yunwen came to the throne and wanted to reduce the vassal. However, Taizong was strong and had superior help, and Yunwen was weak and weak, so he decided to depose the king of Zhou first.
(End of chapter)
