"Your Majesty, the general has just received news that Hao Yaoqi and others were attacked in Shuozhou. Fortunately, Xu Wenpu under Ping Xihou rescued them in time, and everyone survived!"
At Zhu Yuanzhang's instruction, Wu Mengming told the news in front of Wang Jiayan and Jiang Dejing.
Zhu Yuanzhang motioned to Wang Jiayanping behind him, then looked at Wu Mengming and said, "Do you know who did it?"
Wu Mengming shook his head and said: "The person who attacked was disguised as a bandit, and his identity has not yet been found out!"
Wang Jiayan heard this, thought for a moment, and said, "Your Majesty, it has been three days since we released Hao Yaoqi and others."
"Logically speaking, Thief Li should have received the news a long time ago, but he has yet to send anyone to respond. Could it be that he is responsible for this?"
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered: "We released Hao Yaoqi and others because we wanted to take the opportunity to disrupt the rebels. With Li Thief's ruthlessness, he can indeed do such a thing."
"But except for Thief Li, others may not want them to go back alive. This matter may not be that simple!"
Wang Jiayan was stunned for a moment and said hesitantly: "Your Majesty, do you suspect that Zuo Liangyu did this?"
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Wang Jiayan, nodded and said: "Yes, although we let Hao Yaoqi go, if they die before they reach Chang'an, we still can't get rid of the involvement."
"In addition, Hao Yaoqi is one of Li Thief's top ten generals, and Li Laiheng is Li Guo's adopted son. The other dozen or so people are also quite prestigious in Li Thief's army."
"If they die in Shanxi, even if Thief Li is unwilling to send troops, he will still lead his army to attack us in order to win over people's hearts!"
As he spoke, he looked at Wu Mengming and said, "Wu Qing, can Huang Degong go north according to the order?"
Wu Mengming shook his head and said: "Huang Degong intends to go north, but since Zuo Liangyu promised that his firearms will arrive in two days, he is only reorganizing the army and has not yet gone north."
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he frowned and said nothing.
Seeing this, Wang Jiayan thought that Zhu Yuanzhang was hesitant, so he persuaded him: "Your Majesty, if this is really Zuo Liangyu's doing, then you must not conquer it yourself now."
"You must know that although the Beijing army wiped out Li Zushu's tribe in Tongzhou, they did not capture Li Zushu himself. I suspect that he has quietly gone to the south and may cause trouble in the south at any time."
"If Zuo Liangyu also harbors evil intentions, and Shanxi is no longer owned by His Majesty, then the Datong area is the place where the Four Wars were fought, and it is definitely not the place where the decisive battle with the Jurchens takes place. Your Majesty, please think twice!"
"Your Majesty, in addition to what Mr. Wang said, there is also a problem with food."
After Wang Jiayan finished speaking, Jiang Dejing finally made up his mind and advised: "Since Nanliang was robbed at sea, Nanliang has been mainly transported by land."
"But Mr. Shi has not yet pacified Shandong, so food transportation is very difficult, and it is often plundered by rebels."
"If Your Majesty leads the army into a war, I am afraid that the rebels will attack the grain road in large numbers. Once the food is damaged, the morale of the army will be unstable. Please think twice, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "My dear friends, we have considered everything you said, but do you think these things will not happen if we don't fight in person?"
"In fact, it's just the opposite. Only if we personally conquer and quickly defeat the Jurchens can these things not happen."
Jiang and Wang were stunned when they heard the words, and then they realized that it was indeed what Zhu Yuanzhang said, so they couldn't help but fell silent.
Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice: "You don't have to be too pessimistic. Whether it's Li Zushu, Zuo Liangyu, or anyone else, it's not just a day or two for them to be rebellious."
"The reason why there hasn't been an outbreak yet is that we defeated the rebels previously and made them fearful. Now as long as we can repel the Jurchens, they will not dare to act rashly..."
Jiang Dejing didn't know how to fight, so after listening to Zhu Yuanzhang's words, his original worry gradually weakened.
However, Wang Jiayan's face was still heavy, because he knew very well the combat power of the Ming soldiers. If they were to deal with rogue bandits, they might still be able to fight, but if they were to attack the Jurchens, it would be like hitting an egg against a stone.
If Zhu Yuanzhang really led such soldiers to go on an expedition, it would most likely be another "Tumu Fortress Incident", so he felt particularly heavy.
Zhu Yuanzhang seems
He saw through Wang Jiayan's thoughts and comforted him: "Wang Qing, you don't have to worry. Although the Jurchens are strong, they are only strong in cavalry, and they are only good at field battles."
"Their attack on Datong this time is to abandon their strengths and use their weaknesses. We only need to rely on the strong city of Datong, use up their energy, and knock them back, and we will definitely win in one battle!"
Wang Jiayan heard this and said strangely: "Your Majesty, if you refuse to defend the city, how can you quickly repel the Jurchens?"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "The Jurchens are a small place, and it is not a place rich in products. How long can he support an army of nearly 100,000 people? Why can't we win quickly?"
Wang Jiayan was stunned for a moment, then bowed and said: "Your Majesty is wise, I wish your Majesty immediate success!"
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with satisfaction and said: "This battle seems to be about soldiers, but in fact the most important thing is money and food."
"Now we have raised more than ten million taels of silver. The money should be enough, but the food..."
As he spoke, he looked at Jiang Dejing and said, "Qing Jiang, the Ministry of Household Affairs has arrested many officials because of Shen Weibing's incident, and Zuo Maodi has just taken office, so he should be unfamiliar with many things."
"You used to also be in charge of the household transfer department. When you have time, you go to the household department to help. Make sure you have enough food.".z.br>
Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's solemn expression, Jiang Dejing hurriedly responded.
Zhu Yuanzhang gave them some more details and asked them to retreat.
Then he looked at Wu Mengming, who was standing quietly beside him, and said, "Wu Qing, is it true that the identity of the person who attacked and killed Hao Yaoqi has not been confirmed?"
Wu Mengming nodded and said: "It is really impossible to confirm now, because we have always had people monitoring Zuo Liangyu and Li Zicheng, and they did not take action at that time."
"And they were very surprised when they learned that Hao Yaoqi and others were attacked, so they shouldn't have done it!"
After Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he was silent for a while, and then said to Wu Mengming: "Besides this, is there any other news?"
Wu Mengming bowed and said, "Ping Xihou and Master Shen have been ordered to come to the capital quietly. It is estimated that they will arrive at the designated location after nightfall."
"In addition, there is news from Liaodong that Duke An Guo has accepted Concubine Tian's suggestion and is preparing to divide his troops to attack Jurchen Shengjing!"
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Okay, this is good news. Is there anything else?"
Wu Mengming said hesitantly: "Then there is news from Shandong that after Gao Jie and others entered Shandong, Shangshu Shi turned from defense to offense and led his troops to attack Jinan."
"Unexpectedly, another team suddenly appeared and defeated Lu Jiude's army, causing the battle line to collapse again. Fortunately, only some men and horses were lost, and the food road was not damaged..."
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he asked in a deep voice: "Is there still no news from Li Ruolian? Logically speaking, he should have arrived a long time ago?"
Wu Mengming said with some helplessness: "The general has tried his best to have people investigate, but Commander Li seems to have disappeared, and there is no news at all."
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but frowned when he heard this.
Because the Henan Passage is a key step in his strategy, if Li Ruolian fails, his plan may be blocked or even fail.
If this is the case, then he really only has a battle with the Jurchens.
While Zhu Yuanzhang was deep in thought, a young eunuch came in to report that Zhu Cixiang was seeking an audience again.
Zhu Yuanzhang had been keeping Zhu Cihong in the cold for three days because of Xia Wanchun's incident. When he heard the report, he thought that it was almost time, and he would be leaving Beijing soon. There were some things that needed to be explained to Zhu Cihong, so he ordered the young eunuch to let Zhu Cihong in.
