"Report that Japanese pirates are aggressively invading the coastal areas of Fujian, Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Putian and other places."
"Deng Yu, the Duke of Wei, personally led a large army to rescue Fuzhou, but was besieged by nearly 10,000 Japanese pirates and suffered heavy losses. Please send troops immediately to reinforce Fujian!"
Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and Xu Da in the palace were all exhausted by this news.
They were just discussing the issue of Japanese pirates along the coast. As a result, these Japanese pirates directly attacked Fujian and other places. Even Duke Wei personally led the rescue force and was ambushed.
You must know that Deng Yu, the Duke of Wei, has been on the battlefield for a long time. He accompanied Zhu Yuanzhang in the southern and northern campaigns, went north to pacify Gansu, and surrendered Uzang. He has extremely rich combat experience.
The three thousand elite battalions under his command are even more elite in the Ming Dynasty. They can fight one against ten elite soldiers, and they fight on land, but they will be defeated by a group of Japanese pirates.
Xu Da was the first to react and said anxiously;
"Sir, this matter should not be taken lightly. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north and Guangdong and Guangxi to the south. Its geographical location is very important."
"We must immediately send reinforcements to support Duke Wei, otherwise the Japanese pirates will wreak havoc in Fujian and cause corruption in the Fujian region."
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned. Although Fuzhou, Fujian is not far from Yingtian, there are many mountains and hills in Fujian.
If we send troops from Yingtian, it will take at least more than a month to reach Fuzhou, Fujian. By the time we get there, Fuzhou will have been destroyed.
When the time comes, the people will definitely suffer heavy casualties. Zhu Yuanzhang cannot accept this situation.
For the current plan, we can only take the sea route from Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas to Fujian, and we can reach Fuzhou in less than seven days.
Although Deng Yu's troops suffered heavy losses, Zhu Yuanzhang believed that Deng Yu could still hold Fuzhou for seven days.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly looked at Xu Da and said in a deep voice:
"Xuda."
Xu Da was stunned for a moment, and then he cupped his hands and clasped his fists:
"I'm here."
"I order you to immediately lead the navy to support Fuzhou by sea and help Deng Yu defend Fujian."
Zhu Yuanzhang's tone left no room for doubt, and he said loudly:
"We must keep Japanese pirates at sea and not allow them to go deep into the interior and harm the people."
When Xu Da heard that he was asked to lead the navy to support him, he was suddenly confused.
After all, he grew up in land warfare, cavalry charges, and troop formations, which were his specialty.
The navy is not his strong point at all.
Xu Dalian may not be able to figure out even the most basic routes.
From Shengsi Island in Zhejiang Province to Fuzhou in Fujian Province, the mileage by sea and land is more than a thousand miles.
Xu Da did not understand the route along the way, and he might encounter Japanese pirates and pirates on the way. This made Xu Da, a layman like him, feel that this trip was impossible to complete.
Xu Da opened his mouth to refuse, but seeing the solemn look on Zhu Yuanzhang's face, Xu Da knew that Zhu Yuanzhang would never give him a chance to refuse.
Helpless, Xu Da could only report to Zhu Yuanzhang:
"I asked Li Jin to be my deputy to help me destroy the Japanese pirates."
Zhu Yuanzhang did not refuse, waved his hand and said:
"Okay, you two set off quickly."
"Rescuing emergencies is like putting out fires. If you start a moment later, an innocent person may die tragically at the hands of Japanese pirates."
Xu Da said goodbye and left, and Zhu Biao looked at Xu Da's leaving figure thoughtfully.
After Xu Da left, Zhu Biao finally said:
"Father, Duke Wei obviously doesn't understand maritime affairs as well as Li Jin. Why doesn't father let Li Jin lead his army directly?"
"Why go to all the trouble and insist on letting Wei Guogong go as the head coach?"
Zhu Yuanzhang's face was uncertain, and he slowly explained:
"We know Xu Da thoroughly, but we are increasingly unclear about Li Jin."
"Xu Da is indifferent to fame and wealth, and he is loyal to us. In addition, the whole family is in Yingtian City, so he will never betray us."
"But Li Jin is alone and has no worries. We will continue to investigate whether he can be reused."
"With Xu Da following Li Jin, at least we will feel more at ease."
Zhu Biao had a very good impression of Li Jin. He spoke for Li Jin and said:
"Father, I really don't understand why my father seems to be on guard against Li Jin at all times?"
"Li Jin has outstanding abilities. Whether it is governing the local area, benefiting the people, gathering refugees, and encouraging production, his achievements are very outstanding."
"In less than four years, a poor and backward Shanghu County was transformed into a paradise and prosperity."
"And Li Jin didn't have any selfish motives. In order to destroy the Japanese pirates, he spent his own money and efforts, and used all what he learned in training the navy."
"On the battlefield, Li Jin fought a bloody battle with the Japanese pirates on Shengsi Island. Although he suffered heavy losses, he defeated the Japanese pirates."
"To defeat a large number of enemies with a small number, and win them in battle, aren't these the talents our Ming court needs?"
"Why does my father treat Li Jin so poorly? But my father is biased against him?"
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but sigh slightly when he saw that his prince appreciated Li Jin so much.
Zhu Yuanzhang naturally noticed Li Jin's ability. It is not an exaggeration to say that Li Jin is an unparalleled genius.
If Zhu Yuanzhang had met Li Jin when he launched his rebellion, he would have been absolutely delighted. He must have been extremely fond of Li Jin and regarded Li Jin as his mainstay.
But now that he has pacified the world, he only needs loyal and obedient courtiers.
After Zhu Yuanzhang became the emperor, the first criterion for hiring officials was no longer talent, but loyalty.
In terms of talent, isn't Liu Bowen in the imperial court amazing enough?
However, in the Hongwu Dynasty, Liu Bowen was destined to fail, let alone Zhu Yuanzhang's absolute reuse.
Because Liu Bowen was aloof and regarded himself as extraordinary, although he was respectful to Zhu Yuanzhang on the surface, he was very aloof in his heart.
How could a person like Zhu Yuanzhang fail to see Liu Bowen's inner thoughts, so Liu Bowen's tragic ending was doomed.
And what about Li Jin? In Zhu Yuanzhang's opinion, he is more dangerous than Liu Bowen.
Liu Bowen at least knew some principles of ethics and was a true scholar. He believed that the king should serve as the guide for his ministers. If the king allows his ministers to die, they will have to die.
But Zhu Yuanzhang could not see any respect for imperial power in Li Jin.
Although Li Jin was born as a scholar, he never believed in the scholar's ways.
From Li Jin's words and deeds, we can see that Li Jin is by no means a stickler for rules.
Do things without hesitation, have unconstrained ideas, and just do what you say.
He even said that if a king treats his ministers like dirt, then his ministers will regard him as a bandit.
If he hadn't cherished Li Jin's talent, Li Jin would have been killed countless times by Zhu Yuanzhang.
But it was Li Jin's amazing talent that made Zhu Yuanzhang even more afraid.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao with a complicated expression and said:
"Biao'er, Li Jin cannot be judged by common sense."
"His loyalty is not to our Zhu family, but to the entire people."
"If you use this person in the future, you can trust him, but you must not reuse him, let alone make Li Jin the prime minister."
Zhu Biao's face was full of confusion and he didn't understand what Zhu Yuanzhang meant.
"Father, why can't Li Jin be reused?"
"Since he is loyal to the people, doesn't he have the same heart as our royal family?"
"My father once taught his sons and ministers to put the people first. Isn't this the truth?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said seriously:
"There are some things that Li Jin can do, but there are some things that only we can do."
Seeing that Zhu seemed not to understand, Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said no more.
Although the Ming Dynasty has been established, there are still people who are hungry, wars in all directions have not stopped, and there is still a long way to go.
The days are long, and Zhu Yuanzhang will have plenty of time to teach his son, who has high hopes for himself.
