"Do you think they think I'll be excited?"
In early August, when Zhu Gaoxu, who was in Jilin, received the "Di Bao" and saw that King Zhou was deposed and was exiled to Menghua, Yunnan together with the Crown Prince of Zhou, he was not as excited as everyone expected. Instead, he looked at "Di Bao" indifferently. "Di Bao" content, and also have the intention to make fun of it.
To be honest, even Yi Shiha didn't expect his indifferent attitude.
"Probably, after all, even this servant thought that Your Highness would be furious."
He was also ashamed, but Zhu Gaoxu smiled heartily and said: "I have never met the King of Zhou several times. He has been deprived of his vassal. How can I express my sorrow?"
"On the contrary, my eldest brother's move has probably completely chilled the hearts of all the vassals. This is something we should be happy about."
"Your Highness means...will any vassal king raise an army?" Yi Shiha misinterpreted Zhu Gaoxu's meaning.
"No, they don't have the guts." Zhu Gaoxu shook his head. He knew very well the situation of Zhu Yuanzhang's sons.
Except for Zhu Xi and Zhu Fen, no son of Zhu Yuanzhang dared to directly challenge Zhu Yunwen, who owned the entire dynasty, not even Zhu Bai, the king of Xiang and Zhu Zhen, the king of Chu, who were good at conquering and fighting.
"His Royal Highness King Yan doesn't know how to do it?" Yi Shiha asked and got to the point, but Zhu Gaoxu sighed when he thought of Zhu Di: "He doesn't know how to do it either, because my eldest brother and the third child are still in Nanjing."
"His Royal Highness, Prince Yan, values family ties just as much as His Highness."
Yishiha nodded and sighed, but this sentence was a bit harsh in Zhu Gaoxu's ears.
For Zhu Gaoxu, his interaction with the Yanfu father and son was actually not long, so on the premise of saving his life, he did not consider the three of them at all when he raised an army.
Even Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu were just worried that they could not defeat the Southern Army, so they wanted to bring him together.
Moreover, to be honest, he would rather go to war and let the eldest and third eldest brother die in the capital, so that his position in the future will be extremely stable.
Zhu Gaoxu didn't care at all about the consequences of killing the two of them. After all, all his predecessors in history were wiped out by Zhu Zhanji, and he just ignored it.
When he was in Nanjing, his good brother helped him a lot, but he didn't have time to think about how to rescue him now.
"How is the construction of Changchun City going?"
Zhu Gaoxu changed the subject, and Yishiha also subconsciously replied: "The progress is good. Xu Sheng is good at building the city. It can be about half a month ahead of schedule."
"Okay, please keep an eye on Liu Wu and the other three." Zhu Gaoxu nodded and explained at the same time: "It's already early August, and we'll have heavy snowfall in another month and a half."
"As long as it snows heavily, we can be cut off from Liaodong and the Central Plains."
"This half year of winter is enough for us to recharge our batteries."
The climate and environment of the Bohai Sea sometimes give Zhu Gaoxu a headache, but sometimes they can help him at critical moments.
Take winter as an example. From late September every year to the end of March of the following year, it is the time when heavy snow seals the mountains. Even if Zhu Yunwen wanted to deal with himself, he would not be able to send an army.
The only time he can deal with himself is from the beginning of spring next April to the beginning of winter in late September.
"This winter, will the imperial court seize the opportunity to transfer the Liaodong brothers such as Commander Fu Du and Commander Yang?"
Yi Shiha expressed his worries, and Zhu Gaoxu calmly replied: "It's not impossible, so I'm going to send news to Fu Rang in advance."
"I'm worried about this news, so you have to go there in person."
Zhu Gaoxu looked at Yishiha, and Yishiha bowed after hearing this: "Your Highness, please rest assured, I will definitely bring the message to you."
"Don't take the main road. Take a hundred brothers with you and let Fudaha take you to Dongning Prefecture (Jianzhou) in the former Yuan Dynasty." Zhu Gaoxu specially confessed. Obviously, the information to be sent this time is very confidential.
Seeing Yishiha listened solemnly, Zhu Gaoxu's expression also changed, as if he had made some serious determination.
"Send a message to Fu Rang and Yang Zhan, and ask Fu Rang to write to Fu Zhong, Fu Zheng, Fu Mao, and Fu Jing in March next year, asking Fu Zhong to move to Yunnan. In addition, let the three brothers of Fu Zheng examine Dudu. If Dao Gan Meng in the southwest rebelled again and told them not to rush to attack the city, but to do me a favor."
"This time, I want to name Duke Ying and Duke Song."
Zhu Gaoxu explained the most important thing, and then continued: "In addition, let Fu Rang send a message to Lin Su and the previous Bohai brothers in May, telling them to remember what the military discipline of the Bohai Navy is."
"Finally, you bring news to Yang Zhan and ask his father Yang Qiu to take control of Danzhou in the name of encircling and suppressing Japanese pirates."
These three things are very important as they relate to whether Zhu Gaoxu can have extra help during the crisis.
Judging from the "Di Bao" he obtained, the first phase of the war in Yunnan should be almost over. Although most of the famous generals south of the Qinling and Huaihe River gathered there, Zhu Gaoxu knew the terrain in the western Yunnan area of Yunnan very well. Mu Chun They couldn't defeat Dao Gan Meng in one go.
If nothing else goes wrong, they will temporarily accept Dao Qianmeng's surrender because of the news of Zhu Yuanzhang's death and the difficulties in transporting grain on the Five Feet Road in western Yunnan, as in history.
However, Daogan Meng did not really want to surrender. His surrender was just a delaying tactic. In fact, he was gathering troops and horses from Mengyang, Mubang and other places, and requisitioning grain and grass, in preparation for fighting the Ming army again next summer.
If the three Fu brothers and Wang Xuan and his son failed to work hard, then Zhu Gaoxu estimated that even if Muchun was still alive, the Southwest Corps would have to fight Dao Gan Meng until autumn to end the war.
They fought until autumn, and then received orders to go to the Central Plains. Counting the time, it was already the second year of Jianwen when they arrived at the battlefield in the Central Plains.
He must seize the opportunity to capture Liaodong two years before Jianwen, and let the shipwrights of Jilin Shipyard build enough ships in Liaodong.
As long as the Jilin Shipyard and Ordnance Bureau are moved to Liaodong, it will not be a problem even if Xu Huizu leads the Southwest Corps to the Central Plains.
They fought fiercely with Zhu Di in the Central Plains, but they were able to create opportunities for themselves.
"Gotta hurry up..."
Zhu Gaoxu looked outside the hall, not knowing what he was thinking.
Seeing that he had nothing to explain, Yi Shiha withdrew from the palace and told the palace chief Shi Suncheng about the matter at hand.
Sun Cheng was the first official to come to Jilin City with Zhu Gaoxu. Although he was only an official, he passed the boy examination and became a student in Shangyuan County.
Originally, he just wanted to come to Jilin City to work for a year, and then returned to Nanjing with twenty guan of money to continue the rural examination.
However, after coming to Jilin City, he saw with his own eyes how Jilin City developed step by step, so he delayed taking the provincial examination again and again.
The young man who was once seventeen years old is now twenty-one years old.
Although he is young, Sun Cheng has served as deputy under Yi Shiha for three years. Since Yi Shiha cannot serve as the chief historian of the palace, Sun Cheng has always been the deputy of the palace chief.
Yishiha was very relieved to leave the matter to Sun Cheng, so after explaining everything, he took more than a hundred Jurchen soldiers to the east the next day, preparing to let Fudaha take them southward in the Yuan Dynasty BC Dongning Mansion.
Dongning Mansion may be very unfamiliar to many people, but in the history of previous lives, this place will be set up as Jianzhou Guard by Zhu Di after the Battle of Jingnan.
The current place has been destroyed by the Mongols and has now become a ruin. Only a small number of Jurchens live in this place and obey the orders of the Liaodong Dusi.
Therefore, without Fudaha and other Jurchens to lead the way and establish relationships, Yishiha and the others are likely to be reported by the local Jurchens.
Yi Shiha left, and nothing happened in Jilin City because of his departure. Everything was proceeding according to Zhu Gaoxu's plan.
The people are reclaiming wasteland, and the soldiers are training in the military camp...
If the Mid-Autumn Festival had not come on August 15th, I am afraid that the peace in Jilin City would have continued.
On this day, in order to solve his last worries outside the pass, Zhu Gaoxu summoned the leaders of the Six Cities to Jilin City.
After four years of management by Zhu Gaoxu, the number of more than 70 tribes in the Six Cities and Jilin City has been reduced to 22 tribes.
Among them, the six city lords of the six cities are still the most powerful, but they are also living in a very difficult situation.
The invasion of Wuliangha brought them huge casualties and hard-to-recover economic trauma. It took them two years to restore the cultivated land outside the city that was ruined by Wuliangha's horses. Therefore, they all responded to Zhu Gaoxu's summons. Very uneasy.
Times have changed, but only four years have changed. The Jurchens in the Six Cities who were once able to negotiate terms with Zhu Gaoxu can now only sit obediently on the twenty-two chairs in the Chengyun Hall, quietly waiting for Zhu Gaoxu to show up.
They waited for about a quarter of an hour. Zhu Gaoxu walked into the Chengyun Hall with the ordinary-looking Sun Cheng, and the twenty-two heads stood up one after another.
"Bohai Khan Salami..."
They expressed their respect to Zhu Gaoxu in Jurchen language, and Zhu Gaoxu also smiled and nodded, then walked up to the main seat and sat down.
"Everyone, please sit down (Jurchen language)"
Zhu Gaoxu communicated with them in pure Haixi Jurchen language. No one expected that after just two years of seeing each other, this Bohai Khan could speak the same Haixi Jurchen language as they did.
"First serve wine and meat. How can we entertain brothers without wine and meat?"
Zhu Gaoxu gave orders to Sun Cheng, and upon seeing this, Sun Cheng also shouted in Mandarin to the soldiers waiting outside to serve wine and meat.
Soon, plates of roast mutton sprinkled with cumin were placed in front of the table of the twenty-two leaders, with a pot of glutinous rice wine beside them.
Sun Cheng poured wine for Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaoxu also raised his glass: "Drink this glass of wine first, and we will talk while eating."
Upon seeing this, the twenty-two leaders raised their glasses one after another, and followed Zhu Gaoxu to drink down the bowl of rice wine.
They waited anxiously for Zhu Gaoxu to speak, and Zhu Gaoxu did not delay. While eating the meat with a knife, he said:
"I treat you well outside the customs. The reason why I have stopped trading in the past two years is because the imperial court does not allow me to trade with you."
"However, I know it is not easy for you to live outside the customs, so I have informed the court many times..."
Zhu Gaoxu opened the show with the mutual market that the Jurchens outside the Guan Dynasty cared about most, which successfully attracted everyone's attention.
In front of all the Jurchens, Zhu Gaoxu sighed and said: "It's just that many Confucian scholars in the imperial court believe that the Jurchens outside Guan are all descendants of Wanyan's bones and bones, and have a blood feud with the Han people, so they should suppress you and not give you food. It’s difficult for your tribe to reproduce.”
"Bohai Khan, we are not the descendants of Aguda!"
"Yes, we have our own ancestors. All the descendants of Aguda have entered the customs."
"Even if we don't enter the customs, we are still in Dongning. Our ancestors all came down from Beishan to the land of Six Cities. They are not the Wanyan clan from the land of Six Cities."
"Bohai Khan, can you say a few good words for us?"
"Bohai Khan, none of us have any thoughts of rebellion. We also abide by the imperial court's will."
"Those scholars don't know about us, don't you?"
When Zhu Gaoxu finished talking about the attitude towards the Jurchens in the temple, most of the young men and chief men in the six cities, including Ta Shi, the young man from Fotijin City, and Dole and Qi, the young man from Towen City, all spoke.
Indeed, because they knew how to farm, the Jurchens in the Six Cities Land had always stayed on their own terms from the Hongwu period in the early Ming Dynasty to the Zhengtong period when they were massacred after the Tumubao Incident, and they also accepted orders from the Ming Dynasty.
From this point of view, the Jurchens in the Six Cities Land have nothing to criticize against the Ming Dynasty.
However, Zhu Gaoxu could not let them continue to stay on their own. After all, there were still 50,000 to 60,000 people in the 22 tribes in the Six Cities, and they could draw out 20,000 to 30,000 men.
Allowing such forces to exist among the three cities of Jilin, Zhaozhou, and Andong would be very detrimental to Zhu Gaoxu's move south.
Therefore, this time Zhu Gaoxu summoned twenty-two tribes from six cities to conquer them.
"The imperial court is busy cutting down the vassals recently, and I can't protect myself..."
Zhu Gaoxu talked about his difficulties and explained what reducing the vassal state was, including the process of reducing the vassal state.
When everyone heard that the new Ming Emperor had even attacked his own uncle, they immediately looked at Zhu Gaoxu with worry.
Although they had not accepted Bohai's recruitment before, they just did not want to be controlled by others and were worried that Zhu Gaoxu would use them as cannon fodder.
But if something really happened to Zhu Gaoxu, they would definitely be reluctant. After all, Zhu Gaoxu was the first Han Chinese to trade grain with them on a large scale, and he was also a Khan.
If he is deposed, life in the Land of Six Cities will be even more difficult.
Although there is no food that can be traded with each other at the moment, some simple iron tools can still be traded with each other.
In addition, once some tribes ran out of food and were about to be exterminated, Zhu Gaoxu would also provide a small amount of food to help them tide over the difficulties.
Apart from these, they also took note of Zhu Gaoxu's policy of recruiting Jurchens. Therefore, since the emergence of Zhu Gaoxu's policy of recruiting Jurchens, there has been a saying among many tribes: "If you really have trouble, go to Bohai Khan."
In this way, it also expresses that Bohai is actually the last retreat for the Jurchens outside the Pass, the retreat that can ensure their survival.
"If I am deposed, I am afraid that the crime will be to trade food and iron tools with you."
Zhu Gaoxu sighed slightly, which made everyone lower their heads in embarrassment.
Looking at their appearance, Zhu Gaoxu shook his head in his mind, thinking that it was no wonder that after Zhu Di recruited them, they had obviously multiplied to a population of more than ten or two hundred thousand, but after the Tumubao Incident, the number of soldiers and horses was only ten or twenty thousand. Tuotuo Buhua was defeated.
In the final analysis, it would be difficult to find a person like Wanyan Aguda in thousands of years. Without the help of external forces, even an ambitious man like Nurhachi could only be a commander of Jianzhou Left Guard at most.
This group of people did not have the ambition of Wanyan Aguda, nor did they have the ambition of dividing Liaodong like Nurhaci, so it was difficult to complete the unification outside the pass.
It's just that it's okay, it's easier for Jurchens to control themselves without a male protagonist.
"Bohai Khan, can't you think of other ways?"
"Yes, in the past two years, all the children in our tribe have starved to death because they did not have enough food after birth and did not live to grow up."
"Bohai Khan, if this continues, many of us will starve to death."
The land of Six Cities has reached the point of exhaustion, and it is difficult for the population to continue to reproduce, so they are all eager for Zhu Gaoxu to start the mutual food trade again.
Regarding this, Zhu Gaoxu also pretended to be embarrassed, making everyone's hearts hang in their throats.
"I..." Zhu Gaoxu hesitated, and finally gritted his teeth under the gaze of everyone: "I can restart the grain trade, but you have to promise me one thing."
"Just say it, we will do it!"
Everyone spoke one after another, and Zhu Gaoxu also nodded and said: "If I am punished by the court for exchanging food with you, or even send troops to suppress it, then I need you to send troops to obey my orders."
"This..." After hearing Zhu Gaoxu's words, many of the leaders who were accustomed to peace and happiness looked at each other.
At the critical moment, Tashe, a young man from Futijin City, stood up and said, "Futijin has no problem. You let Futijin's children have enough to eat, and we will naturally repay you."
"There are more than 10,000 people in Futijin City, and there are more than 4,000 men. We are willing to transfer 3,000 people to obey your control!"
Futigin City has an old relationship with Yishiha, so it has the deepest interest in Bohai. In the past few years when Bohai stopped mutual trade, whenever Futigin City ran out of food, Bohai would always privately open some mutual markets to help them. This is no longer the case. What a secret.
After all, because of Zhu Gaoxu's help, Futigin City is now the most prosperous city in the Six Cities Land, and it also has the largest population.
When the leaders saw that the tower was lost, they all stood up and handed over more than 70% of the men to protect Zhu Gaoxu. In order to obtain the qualifications for the mutual trade of grain, they also said: "Towen City can mobilize two thousand men!"
"Forsimucheng can recruit two thousand men!"
"Fujixi Cheng can recruit 1,800 men..."
For a time, the twenty-two leaders spoke one after another. Zhu Gaoxu listened and calculated in his mind.
He has already mastered the approximate population and number of males of these twenty-two tribes. Naturally, he can know from which tribes how many people there are and how many males they account for in the tribe's population.
According to his calculations, the twenty-two leaders have mobilized about 17,000 men to themselves, which is basically more than two-thirds of their total number of men.
Obviously, they didn't want to fall.
"Okay!" After hearing what everyone said, Zhu Gaoxu also nodded and said, "Although I don't have the staff, I won't treat you harshly."
"The soldiers and horses you have transferred will be commanded by your own people, and Bohai will only send some people to train them with you."
"From today onwards, Shaotou Renta of Futijin City will be appointed as the commander of the Zhaozhou left guard and will be in charge of the headquarters."
"The young men of Wencheng, Doer and Qi, are entrusted to be the commanders of the Zhaozhou right guard and to take charge of the headquarters."
"Nimacha, a young man from Fusimucheng, is appointed as the commander of the Changchun left guard and is in charge of the headquarters."
"Taqi Chi, a young man from Fujixi City, is appointed as the commander of the Changchun Right Guards and is in charge of the headquarters."
"Teach..."
Zhu Gaoxu canonized twenty-two heads and young men as commanders and officials of thousands of households in one go.
Under the original establishment of Jilin Guards, two left and right guards in Zhaozhou, two left and right guards in Changchun, two left and right guards in Jilin, and two left and right guards in Andong were added, for a total of eight guards.
The eight guards commanded more than 2,000 soldiers, and Zhu Gaoxu would later increase the number of soldiers from the eight guards to 3,000.
In other words, there are 24,000 people in these eight guards alone, and 40,000 people including the 16,000 people in Jilin City.
If you add Blackwater City's reserves, that's 50,000 people.
Such an arrangement made Prince Palace Chief Shi Chenchang sweat profusely and felt a heavy pressure on his shoulders. Fortunately, Zhu Gaoxu's next words made him feel more relaxed.
"The soldiers who have joined the Eight Guards are regarded as the reserves of the Bohai Navy. After the autumn harvest, I will send Xu Sheng and 6,000 people to help you train and control them. At the same time, I will also bring armor and military pay."
"I said that I will not let your efforts go in vain, so from now on, the twenty-two departments will be organized into eight guards and twenty-four institutes, and you will all become Bohai officials."
"However, after all, you haven't helped Bohai in the battle, so you can only be regarded as reserve troops."
"I will ask Xu Sheng to tell you the detailed salary of each official position later."
"As for ordinary reserve soldiers, they are paid three guan of money, twelve stones, one piece of cloth, and three pounds of salt per person per year."
"When the eight guards are successful, I will straighten you one by one. At the same time, the military salary will be adjusted to the same amount as that of the Bohai Navy."
"If there is a crusade against Wu Liangha in the future, and one of you has made meritorious service, you will also receive land rewards and money rewards from the Bohai Sea."
Zhu Gaoxu's words made it difficult for everyone to recover. They did not expect that the military pay given by Zhu Gaoxu would be so high.
They didn't know the concept of three dollars, but twelve stones of grain was the output of almost thirty acres of land in six cities outside the pass.
Based on the Jurchens' fishing and hunting methods, twelve stones of grain would be enough for a family of four to feed themselves throughout the year, not to mention cloth, which only small-headed people could wear.
The soldiers are like this, but what about the generals?
For a time, everyone in the Twenty-Two Departments tasted the sweetness, but Zhu Gaoxu's words quickly reminded them.
"I don't want anyone to deprive the soldiers of their rations, because only by feeding their families can they fight the enemy on the front line."
"As generals, the salary I give you is very generous. If the war is successful, you will receive a lot of reward money and land. Don't think about deducting the soldiers' pay, as that will only harm your interests."
Zhu Gaoxu taught everyone earnestly and said at the same time: "After the autumn harvest, you and your men will join the army together. The calculation of military pay will begin at that time. Military pay will be paid out once every month on the first day of the month. You don't have to worry about arrears."
"Okay, let's all eat meat and drink wine!"
Zhu Gaoxu raised his glass, and many leaders who had benefited also raised their glasses. The smiles on their faces could not be hidden. They were obviously very happy.
Looking at their appearance, Zhu Gaoxu's heart gradually fell to the ground.
If Blackwater City hadn't been recruiting troops too slowly, he wouldn't have sent out eight guards to win over the twenty-two troops in the six cities.
But no matter what, he has finally gathered most of the military power of the six cities and twenty-two divisions together.
With these eight guards and horses, he has a lot of money to go south to Jingnan.
While he was thinking this, a person walked cautiously outside the hall, walked around from the side of the hall and walked to Zhu Gaoxu's side.
"Your Highness, there are some outsiders coming from Jixiguan. They say they are from Peiping."
When the official carefully explained, the smile on Zhu Gaoxu's face became even bigger: "Finally here..."
"Bohai Chronicles": "On the Mid-Autumn Festival in the eighth month, six cities in the west of Haihai were summoned to determine their interests and recruit eight guards."
"Records of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty": "On August 15th, when the Jurchens in the six cities heard that the vassals were cut off in the pass, they recruited their own soldiers and horses to protect the Bohai Sea. They went to mourn and set up eight guards."
(End of chapter)
