"Father, where are the rebels in the south?"
Zhu Cixiang said with some worry: "Since they dared to take action against the disapproval of the world before, they will definitely not let Commander Li easily occupy the east of Henan."
"And they attack with ten thousand cavalry. Even Yuan Zongdi's elite can't resist it. I guess they have a lot of soldiers."
"Now they are retreating to Jiangxi, maybe their home base is there, and Du Yinxi and Shen Yunying are both people of Jiangxi Governor Yuan Jixian..."
Zhu Cixiang said, stopped again, and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with a worried look.
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he smiled and shook his head and said: "Prince, you have indeed made some progress, but this time, you are a little unfounded."
"Although we haven't seen with our own eyes how Shen Yunying defeated those 10,000 people, they are quite equal in number. And as you said, the opponent can even resist Yuan Zongdi's elite, so his strength must not be weak."
"So even if the opponent is attacked by Shen Yunying, at most they will lose some troops and they will never run away."
"Furthermore, judging from the opponent's previous strategy, their leader is cunning and will definitely not escape back to his home base when everyone is paying attention."
Zhu Cixiang was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly said: "Father, what you mean is that they are not soldiers of Jiangxi. The reason for doing this is to make us doubt Lord Yuan?"
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "Yes, Thief Li is temporarily defeated and it is difficult to achieve anything in the short term."
"Although the Jurchen cavalry are strong, their numbers are too small. Even if they can capture a large area of our territory, they will not be able to hold on."
"Besides, we still have Shanhaiguan and other cities to rely on. As long as we don't act rashly, the Jurchens won't be able to do anything to us in the short term."
"So if the other party has a plan, it can only cause us to have civil strife and make the monarch and his ministers suspicious, especially the monarch's suspicion of the feudal officials, which is enough to destroy the family and the country..."
After Zhu Cihong heard Zhu Yuanzhang's words, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
Then he said with some confusion: "If their home base is not in Jiangxi, then if they flee to Jiangxi, aren't they afraid that Master Yuan will surround them?"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "This is their brilliance. You must know that the southern soldiers are not good at land warfare, especially since Yuan Jixian has deployed 10,000 elite troops to Du Yinxi."
"Even if he wants to suppress the thieves at this time, he is unable to do anything. If we can't see this clearly and rebuke Yuan Jixian, there will be a rift between the emperor and his ministers."
"In particular, Yuan Jixian was an honest official and had high prestige in the south. Many southern officials were his close friends."
"If he is punished or is dissatisfied, the officials in the south will definitely be resentful of us. If those rebels take the opportunity to incite, we will immediately be in trouble due to lack of food..."
After Zhu Cihong listened to Zhu Yuanzhang's explanation, the cold sweat that had just dissipated broke out even more fiercely.
At this time, he realized that his previous desire to go to the south was too naive.
He calmed down and asked Zhu Yuanzhang for advice: "According to my father's opinion, whose soldiers and horses are those 10,000 people?"
"Also, my father has captured Xu Yunzhen and others who were nominally suppressing the rebellion. I heard that Wei Guogong Xu Yunjue was quite popular in Nanjing and had close relations with Baoguo Duke Zhang Guobi, Lingbi Marquis Tang Guozuo, Xincheng Bo Zhao Zhilong and others. dense."
"If my father kills Xu Yunzhen and others without any reason, my sons and ministers are worried that they will take the opportunity to provoke them, and the transportation of grain from the south to the north may also be hindered."
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he knew that Zhu Cihong had done a lot of homework and his vision was much better than before, and he was secretly happy in his heart.
Because his biggest crisis now is not Jurchen or Zuo Liangyu and others, but food.
Once the southern grain cannot be delivered in time, all his plans will not be implemented.
However, in order to prevent Zhu Cixi from worrying too much, he pretended to be relaxed and said: "Although these people you mentioned have some influence, don't forget that we have soldiers in our hands."
"As long as Li Ruolian opens the Henan Passage, our army can march straight in. Even if they have different intentions, they will not dare to act rashly."
"As for the ten thousand people you mentioned, judging from their combat power, they are definitely not soldiers from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so we don't have to worry."
"Moreover, the transportation of grain from the south to the north is just a transition. As long as Song Yingxing can plant sweet potatoes and other crops, not to mention the south, even the Jurchens, we can destroy it with a snap of our fingers..."
Zhu Yuanzhang said, and then brought the topic to Jiang Dejing and others.
After listening to Zhu Yuanzhang's narration, Zhu Cihong felt a lot more relaxed, so he followed his words and told what happened recently.
It turned out that since Zhu Yuanzhang blamed Jiang Dejing for being hesitant and asked Wu Mengming to send a team of Jinyi guards to follow him, Jiang Dejing changed his previous conservative attitude.
He first arrested and punished county magistrates such as Wu Deyi who ran out to make trouble, and then dismissed a large number of officials who were corrupt and violated the law.
For some people who have committed heinous crimes, no matter who pleads for mercy, he will show no mercy and punish them according to the law.
Although some people jumped out to make trouble during this period, they not only induced ignorant people to besiege his mansion, but also ordered someone to assassinate him.
However, Jiang Dejing did not back down and still dealt with the officials on his own.
At the same time, he asked the Jin Yiwei to arrest the lawbreakers and killed more than a dozen officials and squires before suppressing the matter.
Since then, the administration of officials in the capital has been greatly improved, and more and more people have come back from the mountains and fled.
After Song Yingxing arrived, Jiang Dejing cooperated fully, but because the sweet potatoes and other seeds had not yet been shipped, farming and other matters were temporarily ineffective...
After Zhu Yuanzhang listened to Zhu Cixiang's story, he remembered the assassination of Song Yingxing. After questioning, he found out that the assassination was actually carried out in Jiangxi, and he couldn't help but frown.
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly remembered that he had not seen Li Jing since he came back this time, and took the opportunity to ask: "How did Ni Yuanlu and Li Jing from the Ministry of Revenue behave in this matter?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Cixiang bowed and said: "Master Ni, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is very cooperative with this. As for the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Mr. Li, it seems that he has been preparing for food, wages, horses and other matters recently, and I have not seen him."
Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised and said: "You have never seen him?"
Zhu Cihong thought for a while and said: "My ministers have been busy dealing with Li Zushu and others these days and did not convene the Ministry of Household Affairs to discuss farming matters..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw a worried look on Zhu Yuanzhang's face. He immediately understood and said worriedly: "Father, are you worried that Mr. Li is in danger?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while and then said: "Li Jing is a loyal man. Although we did not inform him of his departure from the capital, he and Shen Zhanran are good friends."
"Based on Shen Zhanran's understanding of us, I will not hide this matter from him, even though he was busy with affairs a few days ago and did not participate in counterinsurgency."
"But today's rebel siege of the imperial city is such a big deal, how could he ignore it with his character?"
As he said this, he thought of Shen Zhanran's unusual behavior and was shocked.
You must know that he seems to have saved the situation, but the only people who can truly be trusted and take charge are Liu Wenbing, Gong Yonggu, Li Ruolian, Shen Zhanran, and Li Jing.
Now Shen Zhanran is behaving differently, and Liu, Gong, and Li are fighting abroad. If anything happens to Li Jing again, he may be alone in the capital again.
Just when Zhu Yuanzhang was worried, a young eunuch came in to report that Wu Mengming and Meng Zhaoxiang were outside seeking an audience.
