On the first day of June, after three days of rest and reorganization, Hongwu's 31st Northern Patrol Army finally announced its withdrawal due to Zhu Di's uneasiness and Zhu Gaoxu's obstruction.
It's just that no one in the army complained about this northern patrol. After all, the Ming army went out to the fortress many times, and they didn't always encounter the Mongols.
Everyone just thought that Wu Liangha had been hit too hard, so he moved too far north, and the search was not worth the loss.
Perhaps only Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Di and the generals of Yanfu and Bohaifu knew the reason for returning without success this time.
"Second brother, I'm leaving."
Outside Wulianghatu City, watching a team of more than 200,000 people begin to return south, Zhu Di rode his horse to the front of the Bohai Three Thousand Cavalry Formation and explained to Zhu Gaoxu with a complicated expression.
Behind Zhu Di, the expressions of Zhu Neng, Qiu Fu, Zhang Yu, Yao Guangxiao and others were also intriguing. Obviously, Zhu Gaoxu's actions this time made them get to know him again.
But Zhu Gaoxu himself didn't care about their thoughts.
When Zhu Yunwen's knife was actually swung at Yan Mansion, Zhu Neng and the others would be able to understand him without him having to explain.
"Father, I still say the same thing..."
Zhu Gaoxu looked at Zhu Di and everyone in the Yan Mansion. He rode his horse forward and said in a voice that only a few people could hear:
"I'm afraid the one from Nanjing has already inherited the big position. This action has saved you, but my fifth uncle may become your scapegoat."
Zhu Gaoxu is sophistry, or in other words, he is brainwashing Zhu Di.
Zhu Di doesn't know history, and he can only judge based on the present. Therefore, after Zhu Gaoxu hinted like this, I am afraid that when he learns that Zhu Gao has been reduced to a commoner, his mood will be very complicated.
"Zhou Fan and Qi Fan, if the imperial court takes action against both of them, then you will be the next one."
"If the imperial court really wants to take action against you, then this kid will be the first to bear the brunt."
"I would like to tell you and the generals that if the imperial court wants to take action against me, I will never let you go. You should know what I mean."
Zhu Gaoxu still wanted to force Zhu Di to rebel, but his method of forcing him to rebel had changed.
According to his judgment, if Zhu Yunwen really wants to touch Zhu Di, he must first touch himself. The reason is that when Zhu Yunwen, Li Jinglong, Geng Bingwen and others in history were dealing with Zhu Di, what they were most worried about was that Zhu Di fled beyond the Great Wall.
This has been the case in history, and their mentality will not be much worse now, because the current situation is more severe.
If Zhu Di in history fled outside the Great Wall, he would have no choice but to seek refuge with the Mongols, but it is different now.
Because of himself, Zhu Di could completely escape beyond the Great Wall and then seek refuge with him in Jilin City.
There are Jinyiwei in Jilin City. Once Zhu Yunwen masters Jinyiwei, it should not be difficult to guess that Jilin City will be self-sufficient in the past two years.
First deal with Zhu Di. If Zhu Di escapes, then the father and son will join forces in Jilin, and Ming Dynasty will undoubtedly face a more difficult border trouble.
Therefore, the safest way is to first clean up the Bohai Sea, and then rely on Yanshan, Taihang Mountain, and Shanhaiguan to besiege Zhu Di and further reduce the vassal state.
Zhu Gaoxu didn't know when Zhu Yunwen would touch him, but thinking about it, it wouldn't take too long.
We will send people to Bohai as soon as September and take over the Bohai Sea as early as next spring at the latest. There is no possibility of delay in the future.
Of course, what Zhu Gaoxu hopes most is that Zhu Yunwen gives himself some time and insists on waiting until next spring before attacking him.
Now I still need some time to prepare.
After the spring of next year, as long as he dares to do something to him, he will simply grant peace to the emperor. So what he is saying to Zhu Di now is to let Zhu Di prepare in advance. Don't raise an army himself. Zhu Di is still pretending to be crazy in Prince Yan's palace. , I didn’t even know when Zhu Yunwen’s men raided Prince Yan’s Mansion.
Sure enough, after listening to Zhu Gaoxu's words, Zhu Di's face immediately became solemn.
If Zhu Gaoxu really started a rebellion, Zhu Yunwen would definitely seize the opportunity to get rid of him. Thinking of this, he looked directly at Zhu Gaoxu.
He tried to see something from Zhu Gaoxu's face, but he only saw Zhu Gaoxu's dull eyes.
"You are forcing me to support my troops and respect myself..."
Zhu Di spoke slowly, but Zhu Gaoxu shook his head: "I want you to protect yourself, kid."
Indeed, no matter how you look at Zhu Gaoxu's behavior in the past month, he is very sorry for Zhu Di.
If there had not been the outbreak of Jianwen's vassal reduction and the Jingnan War, the father and son would have been separated for the rest of their lives.
It's just that for Zhu Gaoxu, if Jianwen's reduction of vassals really didn't happen, then he would rather there was a gap between father and son.
"I'm leaving, take care of yourself..."
Zhu Di didn't say anything more. At this moment, he felt a little uncomfortable.
Shaking the reins, he lowered his head and left in front of Wulianghatu City. Zhu Neng, Qiu Fu, and Zhang Yu remained silent as they passed by Zhu Gaoxu, but after bowing, they rode their horses to catch up with Zhu Di.
After they left, Yao Guangxiao also slowly rode up to Zhu Gaoxu.
However, compared to Zhu Di, Zhu Neng and others, he was still kind-hearted and kind-hearted, with a slight smile on his lips, as if foreign affairs had nothing to do with him.
"Can you accept this result?"
Yao Guangxiao came to inquire. He wanted to know whether Zhu Gaoxu could still maintain his composure.
"Why can't you accept it?" Zhu Gaoxu remained calm, and he glanced at Yao Guangxiao: "If my father really has no choice but to raise an army, what will the master do?"
"Um..." Yao Guangxiao still wanted to see Zhu Gaoxu in embarrassment, but he didn't want Zhu Gaoxu to make him embarrassed with just one word.
Although he was embarrassed, he still thought about the questions raised by Zhu Gaoxu.
He counted the Buddhist beads several times and said cheerfully: "I have no worries about this poor monk, and His Highness King Yan is kind to this poor monk."
"If His Highness is really helpless, then what if he gives up his skin and goes out with him?"
Yao Guangxiao spoke his answer calmly, and Zhu Gaoxu also continued: "Aren't you afraid that the Buddha will blame you?"
"Haha..." After hearing the Buddha, Yao Guangxiao chuckled a few times and said: "If you know your kindness and don't repay it, then even if the poor monk lives on, he will not be able to go to the bliss after death. In this case, it is better to take a gamble."
After the words fell, Yao Guangxiao looked at Zhu Di and the others walking away. He also shook the reins of his horse and rode slowly past Zhu Gaoxu.
"Old Bones, if I continue chatting with you, I won't be able to catch up with His Highness and the others."
"Master, go slowly." Zhu Gaoxu nodded and saw Yao Guangxiao leaving with Zhu Di and others.
At this time, Wang Yi rode up, followed Zhu Gaoxu's gaze, and said at the same time: "This master is a smart man, why don't you remind him?"
"Smart people don't need to be reminded." Zhu Gaoxu turned his horse's head and no longer looked at the backs of Zhu Di and others, but instead looked at the Ming army's troops who were walking out of the camp.
Not long after, he saw those familiar figures.
Led by Yang Zhan and Lin Su, they walked slowly towards them.
Not long after, they came to him, led by Yang Zhan and Lin Su, and bowed: "Your Highness, please take care."
"Go ahead. If we meet again in the future, I will have a nice drink with you."
Zhu Gaoxu spoke with a smile, and Yang Zhan and Lin Su also signaled to the dozen or so people behind them.
The dozen or so people left with understanding, and the two of them rode forward and came to Zhu Gaoxu's side.
"Your Highness, is what you said before true?"
Yang Zhan had a solemn face, and the reason why he was like this was because Zhu Gaoxu told them three days ago that the late emperor had died, and that the grandson would succeed to the throne and that the vassal vassal would be reduced soon.
Of course, Zhu Gaoxu did not say that he would raise an army. He only said that Zhu Yunwen had his own ambitions, so the method of reducing the vassal might be unexpected by others, and he might not be able to survive.
Such words did not sound like words that would come out of his mouth, and they went against the tall image in Yang Zhan and Lin Su's minds.
Therefore, they did not think Zhu Gaoxu was joking.
"Just pretend you haven't heard of it. Do your best to work hard and find a good future for yourself and your family."
Zhu Gaoxu did not show any sadness, but instead had a smile on his face.
But it was this expression that made Yang Zhan and Lin Su uncomfortable.
"Your Highness..." Yang Zhan spoke first, lowering his voice: "If something happens to you, I will never let you go behind bars."
"Yes!" Lin Su also categorically agreed, and increased his momentum: "Even if we are willing, the brothers in Bohai are not willing. You are a virtuous king who has done great service to the court. No matter how you cut down the vassal, you will not be able to cut it down. If it really hurts you..."
Lin Su pondered for a while, but soon said with certainty: "That means the person who wants to cut down the vassal is a traitor and a coward!"
With just one sentence, it was impossible for Lin Su to betray Zhu Gaoxu. After all, if his words were leaked to anyone, he would be liquidated in the future. This showed that he had already made up his mind.
"Indeed, whoever wants to attack you is a traitor and a coward!"
Yang Zhan didn't react slowly and made his attitude clear immediately, but this scene made Wang Yi, who was behind Zhu Gaoxu, feel complicated.
He looked at the back of His Highness and slowly lowered his head.
"It doesn't have to be like this. If you can live a good life, I'm happy for you. Don't ruin this situation just because of me."
After saying that, Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand: "The team has gone far, follow it quickly."
"Your Highness, don't worry, we know what to do!"
The two bowed in return, then shook the reins and rode off.
Watching them leave, Zhu Gaoxu didn't look away for a long time. It wasn't until they and the team completely disappeared from sight that Zhu Gaoxu turned his horse's head, and when he passed by Wang Yi, he laughed at himself: "Hypocritical, right?"
"Your Highness... this is also a helpless move. Besides, even if the brothers knew about it, they would be willing to support you."
Wang Yi had cold sweat on his forehead, but he still expressed his true thoughts.
He admitted that Zhu Gaoxu's methods today were contrary to his image in his heart, but he also knew that Zhu Gaoxu had no choice but to act.
Moreover, virtue is an imaginary number. People in their thirties like Wang Yi have their own standards for judging whether a person is good or bad.
Zhu Gaoxu gave them high military pay, equalized land for them, and built houses. In order to prevent them from getting injured and dying, he also built hospitals and trained many military doctors who were both clever and physical.
Wang Yi will not forget how he became the commander from an official of hundreds of households, let alone what Jilin City was like before Zhu Gaoxu, and what Jilin City was like under Zhu Gaoxu.
What Zhu Gaoxu gave them was something that others would not give, and were even less willing to give.
Based on this alone, he must support Zhu Gaoxu and his Highness.
"Let's go, it's time to go home."
Listening to Wang Yi's answer, Zhu Gaoxu didn't have much expression. He just gave an order and walked slowly eastward alone.
When Wang Yi saw this, he immediately blew the wooden whistle and led his troops to follow Zhu Gaoxu's footsteps.
Each of them carried a bag of grain on their backs. This was the last thing Zhu Di did for Zhu Gaoxu. He gave each of the three thousand soldiers and horses from Bohai a stone of grain for the withdrawal.
The distance from Wulianghatu City to the Wenwen River in the east is only three hundred miles, which is only four days' journey for the Bohai Navy.
In the middle reaches of the Wenwen River in the east, there were nearly twenty horse-drawn boats with a cost of 1,200 yuan waiting for them.
In just four days, Zhu Gaoxu led the Bohai Navy to the Da'an area in later generations.
In later generations, there were more than 2 million acres of high-quality arable land here, but in the Ming Dynasty more than 600 years ago, it was still a silt beach.
In more than a month, two thousand people sailing from the Bohai Sea built a ferry on this muddy beach.
If this ferry is not destroyed in the future, it will be the bridgehead for the Ming Dynasty to occupy Modong through water in the future.
Even if the ferry is destroyed, as long as Zhu Gaoxu can succeed in peace, it will not be a big problem to repair it.
In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Gaoxu had almost solved the navigation problem of Wenjiang (Nenjiang) River.
The total length of the Anwen River is more than 2,000 miles, and the waterway from the lower reaches to the Sancha River is more than 700 miles. During the wet season, ships with a capacity of about 3,000 tons can be navigated, and during dry periods, ships with a capacity of 1,000 tons can also be easily navigated.
In the river basin from the left and right of Qiqihar upwards in later generations, ships worth about 500 tons can pass through during high water periods, and ships worth 200 tons can pass through during dry periods.
After figuring out these things, it will be much easier for Zhu Gaoxu to further penetrate into the Modong area in the future.
As long as they can gain a foothold in Modong in the future and open a post road across the Greater Khingan Mountains like Zhu Di did in history, then the Ming army can go north from Kaipingwei in the future and use the plain of Modong to produce food and transport it to the army.
At that time, it only needs to be determined whether the Yuerhai and Onan Rivers can carry about a hundred boats, and then the Ming army can organize an army of thousands of people for a long time to fight a tug-of-war with the Mongols in Mobei.
Of course, it sounds simple, but in practice it is not so easy.
We still have to send someone to know the specific situation.
"Get on the boat..."
After clearing his thoughts, Zhu Gaoxu also took Wang Yi and the others onto the horse boat on the ferry.
The horses were stripped of their saddles and burdens, and driven by hundreds of cavalry, they and the horse boats began to go down the Wenwen River.
On the sixth day of June, Zhu Gaoxu returned to Zhaozhou City with three thousand cavalry, while Zhu Di and others were still on their way back to Quaning Guard.
From this, it is not difficult to see how convenient a river is for war.
It took Zhu Di and the others half a month to go from Quaningwei to Wulianghatu City by land, but Zhu Gaoxu only needed six days, saving nine days.
If there is windy and sandy weather, Zhu Di and the others may even spend more than twenty days, but Zhu Gaoxu will spend at most seven or eight days.
An extra ten days and a half month would mean tens of thousands more dans of food were consumed. That's why Zhu Yuanzhang decided to pour resources into building the Bohai Sea after knowing that the Wenjiang River was navigable.
Unfortunately, not everyone has his vision.
After returning to Zhaozhou City, Zhu Gaoxu briefly asked about the progress of land reclamation in Zhaozhou City over the past month.
Due to the large number of cattle and horses, the bean fields outside Zhaozhou City have reached more than 24,000 acres. If nothing unexpected happens, after the spring of next year, there will be 30,000 acres that can be used to grow beans to feed about 4,000 army horses. daily needs.
Zhu Gaoxu was very satisfied with this result, so after explaining how Wang Yi governed Zhaozhou City, he took a horse boat to Jilin City and embarked on his return journey.
On the ninth day of June, Zhu Gaoxu arrived in Jilin City.
Since there was a notice from Tangqi in Jixiguan beforehand, Yishiha waited for Zhu Gaoxu at the pier early.
After Zhu Gaoxu got off the boat, he led Chi Huan, who had disembarked early, and an ordinary horse to greet him: "Your Highness..."
"How is the situation in the city?" Zhu Gaoxu nodded, then took Chi Huan's reins and got on his horse.
The same was true for Yishiha, but after getting on the horse, he followed Zhu Gaoxu and talked about the changes in Jilin City.
"At the shipyard, several masters have already started making the keel of the two-thousand-material ship early as you said."
"Both Boatengong Liu and Boateng Wang have confirmed that these keels will be ready for use after the spring of next year."
"How many keels have been prepared?" Zhu Gaoxu rode his horse towards Jilin City, discussing business matters with Yi Shiha as he walked.
"Twenty pieces are all made according to the standards of warships." Yishiha explained, and also explained: "A horse ship needs a roasting ground, and the keel can be made quickly, and the ship can be built in about three months. , it can be launched in five months.”
"Okay!" After hearing Yi Shiha's words, Zhu Gaoxu nodded with satisfaction. After all, the sea route was his trump card to catch Nanbing off guard.
As long as he went south by sea, he could rely on strong ships and cannons to confront the Confederate army, which was several times their number.
The problem now is, after all, food, so Zhu Gaoxu asked: "How much food is left in the treasury?"
"Four hundred and ninety thousand dan." Yi Shiha responded, and continued: "According to the current growth rate of food, we should be able to have about 500,000 dan of solid food before winter."
"On the other side of land reclamation, more than 90,000 acres have been opened up in Sanwan this year. The town west of Jixi Fort has also been built, and more than 3,000 acres of fields have been opened up."
"The site in Changchun City has been selected, and the ruins of Long'an City in the Pre-Jin Dynasty have been cleaned up, and a lot of usable bluestones have been cleaned up."
"At the current rate, it will take about four months to build a stone fort with cement that can accommodate 5,000 people."
"In addition, the four thousand households promised by the imperial court last year were also sent from the south, and they were all temporarily placed in Changchun City by their slaves..."
Speaking of this, Yishiha lowered his voice: "There are 15,627 people in the four thousand military households, but many of them are always inquiring about some information."
"In addition, the documents from the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion also indicate that there are three thousand households with about 10,000 or 700 people who were transferred to Jilin City and must be on duty in Jilin City."
Yi Shiha has stayed in the Forbidden City for more than ten years, and he has naturally heard many things about adulteration.
It was the first time he had seen such blatant mixing of sand.
"It seems that the one in the south can't wait any longer..."
Zhu Gaoxu looked at Jilin City in the distance and murmured softly.
"Southern? Your Majesty?" Apparently Yi Shiha didn't know the news that Zhu Yuanzhang had died.
"No report has been sent from the south?" Hearing that Yi Shiha didn't know the news of Zhu Yuanzhang's death, Zhu Gaoxu frowned and looked at him, but Yi Shiha shook his head: "It was never sent."
Yi Shiha's words made Zhu Gaoxu sense that something was wrong.
The Ming Dynasty had time limits for the official documents and official newspapers of the civil and military bureaus. The "arrival" time from the capital to the direct government offices, state guards, and offices of all provinces across the country was very strict.
The time from the capital to the Chief Si Yamen of the thirteen provinces, the Dusi Yamen and the Xuanwei Si Yamen of all provinces are all set, so you can only go fast but not slow.
For example, in Henan, Shandong, Huguang, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang, the three governmental offices near Yingtian, the basic regulations must be communicated within twenty days.
For example, in Peiping, Shaanxi and Fujian, the requirement is within thirty days.
As for the further places such as Guangdong and Guangxi, Yunnan, Shaanxi Xingdusi, Liaodong and other places, it basically ranges from 40 days to 100 days.
If it is an urgent document such as the death of the emperor, even relatively far away Yunnan will receive the news within twenty days at most.
Like Liaodong, it only takes fifteen days to receive news, while the longest it takes for Bohai is about twenty days.
If Lao Zhu died on the tenth day of May, as in history, then logically the news should have been sent to Jilin.
"Is it possible...grandpa is not dead?"
Zhu Gaoxu felt his scalp numb when he thought that Lao Zhu might not be dead.
If Lao Zhu was not dead, then many of the things he did were playing with fire and burning himself.
Zhu Gaoxu was not afraid of facing hundreds of thousands of Southern troops. What he was afraid of was the hundreds of thousands of Southern troops under Zhu Yuanzhang.
If Zhu Yuanzhang was the co-ordinator and Geng Bingwen and Li Jinglong were commanding, not to mention the 600,000 Confederate Army, even the 200,000 Confederate Army might not be enough for him and his father Zhu Di.
Thinking of this, his palms became sweaty.
But then I thought about it, Lao Zhu is already so old, and even if he can endure it, he won't be able to endure it for too long, so he can just keep pretending.
After rubbing his sweaty palms with his fingers, Zhu Gaoxu calmed down and told Yishiha: "Pick a few people to find Zhou Ding. What should have happened in the south."
"Yes!" Yi Shiha thought Zhu Gaoxu was talking about something happening in the temple in the south, so he nodded and agreed.
"How's the production going in Blackwater City?"
Zhu Gaoxu asked again, while Yishiha looked around and saw that no one was following him, so he lowered his voice: "Small items can be finished before winter at the most, and large items can be forged as late as spring at the latest. "
He used the word forge, obviously referring to field artillery.
Field guns and naval guns were the key to whether Zhu Gaoxu could quickly capture Liaodong. Zhu Gaoxu was very concerned about it, so he ordered: "Keep an eye on the matter, and don't let the four thousand households from the south know about it."
"Are those three thousand households going to be transferred to Jilin?" Yishiha looked worried, but Zhu Gaoxu nodded calmly.
"Let them come if they come. I want to see what they can do after they come to Jilin City."
"Even if we want to cause trouble, we have to ask the 100,000 soldiers and civilians of Jilin City!"
(End of chapter)
