"Father, I have something unclear, please give me some advice!"
After Zhu Cihong waited for everyone to leave, he bowed and saluted again.
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he looked at him kindly and said, "Oh, you don't know anything, tell us!"
Zhu Cixiang said thoughtfully: "I wonder why my father has issued so many decrees, but why he didn't issue an order for reinforcements to pursue and suppress the rebels?"
"You must know that we are short of food now and can barely supply the soldiers and civilians in the city. If we are supplying reinforcements outside the city, I am afraid that it will not be long before there is insufficient food."
"And the reinforcements outside the city are all arrogant and capable soldiers. Once the supply is insufficient, they are likely to mutiny. Therefore, this battle should be decided quickly. Why doesn't my father let them go to fight?"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and did not answer his question, but asked: "Then do you know why Wu Sangui and others only wrote a letter to pursue Li Zicheng, but did not talk about the encirclement and suppression of Liu Zongmin?"
Zhu Cixiang thought for a while and said: "The art of war has it that capture the thief and capture the king. Maybe they want to capture Li Zicheng first, leaving the rebels leaderless, and then defeat them one by one?"
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "No, although Li Zicheng was defeated, he still had 40,000 to 50,000 troops, most of whom were elites. In addition, Juyongguan City has high walls and thick walls. Even if Wu Sangui and Gao Jie work together to attack the city, they will not be able to capture it in the short term." city."
"And Liu Zongmin and Liu Fangliang only have more than 20,000 people and no strong city to defend. It will obviously be much easier to pursue them."
Zhu Cixiang thought for a while and said, "But Liu Fangliang's army has already moved north..."
Zhu Cixiang suddenly stopped as he spoke, and said in a panic: "Father, once Liu Fangliang's army goes north, will the rebels come back and besiege the capital?"
Seeing the shock on his face, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and shook his head and said: "Even if Liu Fangliang's army of 100,000 people comes together, it is impossible to besiege the capital again."
"What's more, he has to divide his troops to besiege Baoding. It is estimated that there will be no more than 60,000 to 70,000 people at most, and the elites among them are only about 20,000."
"Although the rebels' strength is the same as before, the capital's morale is high after this battle, and they have no chance..."
After listening to Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Zhu Cixiang's original panic gradually dissipated, and he nodded and said: "That's it. Wu Sangui and the others were afraid of encountering Liu Fangliang's army, so they requested an order to pursue Li Zicheng."
"This will not only avoid Liu Fangliang's army, but once the capital is in danger, they will return to the division to rescue them, and they will have the merit of King Qin."
"I didn't expect Wu Sangui and the others to be so vicious. It's really hateful to use the safety of my father to seek promotion. No wonder the ministers were so worried just now!"
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "No, this is not what the ministers are worried about. What they are really worried about is that they cannot check and balance the reinforcements."
"I'm worried that the reinforcements will be seduced by the rebels and join forces to attack the city. This will put the capital in danger."
Zhu Cixiang was shocked again when he heard this, and said: "How is this possible? The reinforcements defeated the rebels today, how can they unite?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice: "There is nothing impossible about this. Shen Qing also said just now that it is abnormal for the rebels to have such a great victory today but not have any injuries."
"I won't talk about Liu Zongmin's escape for the moment, but Li Guo's more than 30,000 people also evacuated safely. I'm afraid it's not simple here."
Zhu Cixiang said angrily: "I just wanted to say that the person confronting Li Guo was Wang Yongji. He was so blatantly raising the bandits. Why didn't my father punish him?"
Zhu Yuanzhang saw the anger on his face and said seriously: "Prince, you are too excited. This is not the way to be a king!"
Zhu Cixiang was shocked when he heard this and immediately apologized: "My son was confused for a moment, please forgive me, father!"
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "Between father and son, it is easy to forgive you, but if one day you rule the world, countless people will suffer if you make a mistake. Do you think they will forgive you like your father?"
Hearing this, Zhu Cixi sweated like rain, and repeatedly apologized: "My son, I have been taught, and I will practice diligently in the future, and I will never let down my father's teachings!"
Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang stepped forward to wipe the sweat from his forehead and said kindly: "We are not criticizing you, we just want you to understand the difficulty of being a king."
"Indulging Li Guo seems to be Wang Yongji's responsibility, and he should be killed according to the law, but he is just a puppet, because the military power is in the hands of Wu Sangui. If you really kill Wang Yongji, you will be subjugating him."
"But if you punish Wu Sangui, firstly, he is not responsible, and secondly, because of his merits as a diligent king, it will easily chill the hearts of the soldiers."
"Moreover, the military is unconvinced at this moment, and the generals are colluding with each other. A single move can affect the whole body. If you are not careful, it may not be a simple mutiny, but a defection..."
Zhu Cixiang was quite proud of his previous remarks. Now when he heard Zhu Yuanzhang's words, he realized how shallow he was. Not only did he nod his head, but he also silently remembered it in his heart.
Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang secretly approved in his heart and said in a deep voice: "Prince, we see that you have made a lot of progress today. From tomorrow on, you will help us supervise the country and govern the country!"
Hearing this, Zhu Cixiang looked at Zhu Yuanzhang in panic and said: "Father, my son and I have little virtue and talent. I'm afraid...I'm afraid..."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Prince, don't worry, we will guide you from the side, and you performed well today, but you still lack some experience!"
"You must remember that the first step in being a king is the hearts of the people. If the people are safe, the world will be peaceful. The second is that the heart of the king is unpredictable..."
Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to send Zhu Cixiang south to Nanjing, so he had always intended to train him, and now he took the opportunity to guide him.
And Zhu Cixiang was also quite savvy. After Zhu Yuanzhang pointed out some things, he immediately understood the key. Although he could not yet understand the subtleties and draw inferences from one instance, he could draw inferences from one instance.
Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed when he saw this, and spared no effort to guide him.
Just when the father and son were having a good conversation, a young eunuch came in and reported that Zhou Hou would send meals to celebrate his success in suppressing the rebellion.
Zhu Yuanzhang wanted the visitor to put down his meal, but he saw Zhu Cixiang looking hesitant to speak.
He thought that because of his status, Empress Zhou was indeed being ignored these days. After hesitating for a while, he went to Kunning Palace with Zhu Cixiang.
When Zhu Yuanzhang came to Kunning Palace, Zhou Hou was watching Princess Kunxing Zhu A'ao teasing Princess Zhaoren with a loving face.
When she saw Zhu Yuanzhang arriving, she was overjoyed and hurriedly ordered people to prepare dinner.
After Princess Zhaoren saw Zhu Yuanzhang, she also abandoned Princess Kunxing and threw herself into his arms like a spoiled child.
Zhu Yuanzhang valued family ties and loved having children and grandchildren around his knees. Seeing her innocent and pink makeup, Zhu Yuanzhang felt very happy and immediately picked her up to play with.
When Zhou Hou on the side saw this, his tense heart relaxed a little, and the smile on his face became wider.
After a while, dinner was served.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw that except for the two dishes in front of him that were a bit meaty, the others were all vegetarian. Thinking that Princess Zhaoren and others were in need of nutrition, his face sank involuntarily.
