Chapter 379 Ready to go
Chen Cao and the ten people discussed in the Qianqing Palace until it was almost dark and the palace door was about to be locked. The meeting ended. Obviously, after Chen Cao's statement, the whole meeting seemed more pleasant.
Under the suggestions of Xu Fuyuan and Chen Cao, a team of ten people represented by Qian Qianyi fully affirmed the importance of titles, and a series of improvements and clarifications of the system followed.
The next day, the imperial court issued an imperial edict to make the arrangements for the descendants of the Chen family known to the world. Nanjing was in an uproar for a while, and then tens of thousands of people gathered at Hongwumen, shouting "Your Majesty is wise" and so on. Words of praise resounded throughout Nanjing.
Of course, some people privately discussed that this was Chen Cao's move to win people's hearts after he ascended the throne.
A series of revolutionary political affairs were proceeding in an orderly manner. In early August, the Yangzhou Emergency News broke into Nanjing from Taiping Gate and was sent directly to Chen Cao's imperial court.
"The Tatars, led by the puppet army Li Yongfang as their main general, brought more than 200,000 puppet troops and 10,000 Jurchen cavalry southward to Gaoyou. They used artillery to destroy the city walls of Gaoyou, and used warships of the Tianjin Navy to enter the canal and block the waterway. Gaoyou City was reached, and it only took two days to conquer Gaoyou."
Chen Cao passed the official document to Zhao Xin, then touched the handrail and closed his eyes and thought: "They are moving very fast, Huang Taiji is probably still dreaming of ruling across the river from us;
In addition, according to reliable information from Jinyiwei, the day before Gaoyou City was destroyed, Zhu Yanrong took 200,000 guardsmen and the soldiers and civilians from the north who fled along the way to Yangzhou. If time can keep up, maybe within one or two days You can reach Nanjing within 1 minute. "
Chen Xi said: "Your Majesty, I believe that we should take over the 200,000 Northern Army led by Zhu Yanrong as soon as possible to avoid the tragedy of my son of the Han family becoming a enslaved soldier."
Chen Cao nodded in response, then knocked on the table and said: "Hong Chengchou sent a battle report from Jiujiang the day before yesterday, and the Zhu family rebellion in Jiangxi has been basically eliminated. The rebels are now gathering in Nanchang, and the decisive battle will be in these days;
At the moment, Jiannu may have been shouting outside Yangzhou City, but I still feel that with the vision of Ning Wan and Fan Wencheng, they will not turn against us so quickly, and occupying the entire north is the top priority. "
From what Chen Cao knew about the Qing Dynasty's behavior, once they entered the north, they would definitely enclose land and keep slaves, and then seize all kinds of private wealth. Finally, they would think that there was a strong enemy in the south.
"The key is to eliminate the Zhu rebellion in the south as soon as possible. As long as we control the Yangtze River, I will not be afraid of building an army of one million slaves and facing Chen Bing."
"Your Majesty the Holy Ming..."
"Your Majesty, the Jinyi Guards have come to report that the King of the Zhu Family has arrived outside Qingliang Gate..."
Chen Cao stood up and said with a smile: "It must be someone from Tang Fan or Gui Fan who has arrived. Let's go and have a look at Hongwu Gate with me."
Chen Cao was really right. The one who came closest was Tang Fan, who was an old acquaintance of Chen Cao and the Tang Fan prince Zhu Yujian who had fled back to Nanyang.
At present, Zhu Yujian was kneeling in front of Hongwu Gate, and Chen Cao stood there. After Zhu Yujian performed the ceremony, he smiled and forgive Zhu Yujian. After all, this guy was indeed the only bloody person among the Zhu family in the late Ming Dynasty. 's clan.
"How is Prince Tang?"
"Your Majesty, the Tatar Hauge army invaded Henan last month. Many uncles in the clan have been captured and taken to the north. My father, he..."
Speaking of Zhu Yujian actually crying, Chen Cao could also think of the way Jiannu treated the Zhu family royal family, so he comforted him: "Don't worry, I am now the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Although my surname is not Zhu, please remember that I am a Han Chinese , not a foreigner from outside the customs, and before I ascended the throne, I also entered the Zhu family's family tree, including your uncle. Since the old Tang Dynasty King encountered something unexpected, I will not betray your intention of waiting thousands of miles to come..."
Chen Cao looked seriously at Qian Qianyi, the Minister of Rites, and said: "Qian Qing, I have drafted a decree to designate Zhu Yujian, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, as our Ming Dynasty King, hereditary and irreplaceable..."
There was an air of surprise in the hall, and even Qian Qianyi took a breath: "Your Majesty, although the prince of the Tang Dynasty knows the general principles and righteousness, but..."
Obviously Zhu Yujian didn't know what the current court policy was, and he still believed that Zi Zi was a hereditary and irreplaceable prince, but it was clear that Qian Qianyi, the Minister of Rites, had some objections.
Chen Cao waved his hand: "I understand what you mean, but Tang Fan came not far away to seek refuge, so he is an understanding person among the Zhu family. Moreover, Queen Zhang's edict has been issued for so long, and only Tang Fan responded. Fan and Gui Fan, I must set an example for these two vassal kings surnamed Zhu."
"I accept the decree..."
...
Yangzhou, Shaobo Town Frontline
The geographical location of Shaobo Town is really good. The canal runs through the town from north to south. The 51st Division of the First Army, led by Kang, is stationed in the town.
The division headquarters is on the east bank of the canal. At this moment, Kang was very busy. There were countless defeated soldiers, town soldiers, common people, princes and nobles from the guard station who were pursued south by Jiannu. According to the instructions of the Yangzhou headquarters, What Kang Shu had to do was to screen these people first, and then send ships to escort them one by one to Yangzhou.
Chirp...
There was a sharp whistle and a red firework exploded in the sky.
Kang Shui had just sent a dozen officials who had fled the capital onto the ship, and he also saw the signal flare in the sky.
A soldier ran over quickly, and after saluting, his expression even looked a little excited: "Master, the Tatars are coming..."
Gaoyou is only fifty miles away from Shaobo Town. The Jiannu cavalry could reach Shaobo Town in up to four hours by running down the canal, let alone relying on the canal waterway.
The fortifications in the north of Shaobo Town were built to perfection, just to be here today. In front of several trench formations, Kang Shui put down the improved version of the telescope with a different name, and then said: "Don't be nervous in the forward company. These Tatars are obviously here." There are not many people who are investigating the truth, so as long as they don’t come within our range, we don’t need to worry about them for the time being.”
It was indeed the Rangers who arrived at the front line of Shao Bo Town, but within ten miles behind these Rangers were the 200,000 puppet troops led by Li Yongfang, and there was a steady stream of troops marching behind them.
Li Yongfang was commanding the troops to advance in an orderly manner, and Tan Ma arrived in time: "The Prince Consort...Prince Li's army has arrived in Gaoyou City. The Prince has an order for the Prince Consort to set up camp ten miles away from Shaobo Town and wait for reinforcements to arrive."
"Go back and reply to Prince Li. Yongfang is waiting here for the prince's army..."
.
Inside Yangzhou City Headquarters
The person in charge was Huang Chunyao, and both Weng Linzhi and Wang Xiaojie had to follow his advice. At this moment, Huang Chunyao had just received a tip from Jin Yiwei that the Tatar reinforcements of 50,000 cavalry had gone south to Gaoyou.
Huang Chunyao looked at the two of them and said: "Two army commanders, the Tatar vanguard will arrive at Shao Bo Town soon. Your Majesty's intention is to try not to conflict with them, disturb their hearing and hearing, and prepare for the follow-up before the south is completely perfected." .”
More than 200,000 troops have gathered in Yangzhou, and no one will ignore it. What's more, more than a dozen of our own divisions are in Yangzhou, and their numbers are basically equal to that of the Tatars.
"Sir Huang, there is only one division of our headquarters in Shao Bo Town. If the Jiannu Tatars launch a fierce attack, I'm worried that Kang Sui's side will not be able to withstand it."
The rifle division is Wang Xiaojie's Shenwu Army, and only two divisions have all changed their equipment. Moreover, none of the units in the First Army where Kang Sui belongs has rifles, which is also what Weng Linzhi is worried about.
Wang Xiaojie said: "Old man, you are a little worried. The geographical location of Shaobo Town is very good. If the Tatars want to advance from the canal, they can only wait for death on the boat. If they attack with cavalry, trench fortifications can effectively block it, not to mention 51 The division’s equipment is not bad either, and Yangzhou’s reinforcements to Shaobo Town will take at most half a day.”
After hearing this, Huang Chunyao felt that it made sense and said: "Commander Wang's words are not unreasonable. Now I will report the news here to His Majesty as soon as possible. When His Majesty's order comes, we will make the next step."
.
Chen Cao has no instructions for the time being. He has just received news from Wei Zhongxian that Hangzhou has passed safely. The issue of land equalization and tax exemption is proceeding in an orderly manner. With the full support of Qi Changguo and his father-in-law Qi Shangwen, the governments in Hangzhou are cooperating well.
In Huang Chunyao's absence, the main people to discuss the military situation were Xu Fuyuan, Zou Weilian, and Chen Yan. He had just arranged Zhu Yujian's affairs during the day. At this moment, he had to summon several people by candlelight to discuss in secret the resettlement of the Zhu family vassal king.
The Qianqing Palace at night was like daytime, and the heat waves from the charcoal stove made the palace unusually warm.
"There is a country in the west of Thailand. They also implement a system of enfeoffment among kings. However, they have very few hereditary princes. Moreover, even the hereditary princes can only stay in their capital city and will never be enfeoffed. Moreover, They also allowed these hereditary princes to enter politics."
Xu Fuyuan frowned when he heard this: "Is Your Majesty taking this opportunity to consider the placement of the Chen clan prince and the vassal prince surnamed Zhu?"
"That's right," Chen Cao slowly knocked on the royal table: "I have another idea, to entrust the vassal king surnamed Zhu to other places, how about overseas?"
"Absolutely not..." Chen Yan immediately stopped him: "Your Majesty, please be careful. After all, the Zhu family has been in power for more than two hundred years in the Ming Dynasty. After the turn of the dynasty, there is no guarantee that they will have other ideas. If they are entrusted overseas, the sky is high. The emperor is far away, and if something unspeakable happens, there is no guarantee that these vassal kings surnamed Zhu will not have strange thoughts;
Secondly, throughout the history of dynasties, coups are unavoidable. I can see His Majesty’s desire to avoid such risks. I bluntly said that if the Chen clan king has different intentions in the future, the Zhu family vassal kings will never miss the opportunity. Prince Ning The lessons from the chaos are not far away. "
Chen Cao thought it made sense and nodded in agreement: "Then how do you think King Zhu will deal with it?"
Chen Yan handed over his hand: "Your Majesty, I think that the system of the Western country can be implemented. It would not be a bad idea to keep the Zhu family kings in the capital or somewhere close to the capital, so that they can enjoy themselves permanently. Or, it may be possible to enfeoff them to a place within reach of the imperial court. As for engaging in politics, , it still needs to be carefully considered by the court."
"This matter is very important. We, the monarch and our ministers, will discuss it carefully..."
