Mao Xiang lowered his head and exited the Huagai Hall with a look of shame on his face. He turned to a deserted place with a smile on his face.
I will order to rectify the Yulin Guards!
Zhu Yuanzhang took out a document, which was written by Mu Ying. It recorded in detail how Gu Zhengchen encouraged the morale of the Jurong Guards, and wrote out Gu Zhengchen's details about the army's faith, and added a comment at the end. :
I think that Gu's command can help the whole army and stabilize the country!
After Zhu Yuanzhang read the document, he fell into deep thinking.
Conquering the world by oneself, what is the sergeant’s belief?
Mingjiao?
Maitreya?
No, it’s to eat, to fill our stomachs.
Although the Red Scarf Army used the banner of "Little Ming King" and called on the soldiers to fight by restoring the Song Dynasty, these are not beliefs, just empty slogans.
The Song Dynasty has been gone for a hundred years, and all the old people who saw the remnants of the Song Dynasty are dead. Few people know whether the Song Dynasty was prosperous or depressed, good or bad.
Fighting in all directions depends on military discipline, military power, and victory again and again!
The prestige of generals, the prestige of commanders, the discipline of sergeants, and the situation of having to eat and survive only by killing the enemy are the keys to the combat effectiveness of the army.
As he eliminated enemies one after another, and as Han Lin'er sank and drowned in the water, Ming Dynasty completely drew a clear line with the Ming Sect and the White Lotus Sect, defining them as evil cults.
Faith, what kind of faith does the Ming Dynasty sergeant have? What kind of faith can there be?
Song Lian proposed "Drive out the Tartars and restore China." This slogan resonated with countless people. It indeed greatly boosted morale during the Northern Expedition and eliminated many resistances during the Northern Expedition.
This was the common belief of the entire army at that time, and even of the Han people all over the world, right?
But now it is the seventh year since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Although the Tartars have not been completely eliminated, China has been established, the Ming Dynasty has been established, and all the people have their own fields and homes. At this time, the shouts of "Drive out the Tartars and restore China" have been Some are out of time and may not be inspiring.
Belief!
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the empty hall. After a long time, he turned his gaze back and fell on the documents.
Gu Zhengchen is right, the army must have a belief, and this belief is himself, the Ming Emperor, and the Ming Dynasty!
Loyal to the monarch, loyal to the Ming Emperor, loyal to the Ming Dynasty!
After finding this belief, he can completely control the army. Even after him, Zhu Biao can firmly control the army!
What to use as faith?
What Gu Zhengchen proposed was to "serve the country by killing the enemy, shrouding corpses in horse hides, opening up new territories, and finding a lord". In his own opinion, "loyalty to the emperor" should be put first!
It's not that Zhu Yuanzhang has never been betrayed by his generals, nor has he been betrayed by his relatives. His confidants like Xu Da and Li Wenzhong were guarding the border and training troops. He himself couldn't sleep well, and he would call these people to Jinling every few months.
Even if Hua Yunlong made a mistake, he would call him over from Peiping.
Because they are military commanders, if they are rude, bully the people a little, and bully civil servants a little, I can forgive them appropriately because of their merits. But if you do something you shouldn't do and step into a place you shouldn't, then you need to be severely punished.
Loyalty is the first thing. Without loyalty, everything else is false.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it and sent someone to order Xu Da, Li Wenzhong and Feng Sheng to return to the court. Issues of military faith must be discussed with this chief general. Nothing will happen on the northern border. Wang Baobao is probably herding sheep and fattening his horses at this time, so he won't come here for a while.
Putting the document sent by Mu Ying in his sleeve, Zhu Yuanzhang planned to read it again before going to sleep, and then began to deal with government affairs.
Officials in the Ministry of Personnel believed that the people in northern counties and counties had less work, and setting up officials like those in southern counties and providing them with the same salary would tire the people, so they suggested reducing the number of officials in northern prefectures and counties by 308.
This suggestion is quite pertinent. For example, in Henan Province, there are not many people, so there is no need to have so many county magistrates, chief registrars, magistrates, magistrates, etc. Some prefectures in Shandong can also streamline their personnel and save some salary. It is a good thing to wait until After the population increases, just increase the number of officials appropriately.
Thunder and lightning flashed, tearing apart the night.
Fengyang Mansion, Haoliang Posthouse.
The bearded Hua Yunlong checked in in the rain, and the people in the post house were careful to serve him. No one dared to offend the Marquis of Huai'an.
Hua Yunlong looked gloomy, ordered someone to bring a jar of good wine, ordered his followers to rest, and entered the room alone.
The window is not closed.
There was constant lightning outside. Hua Yunlong stood by the window, watching the torrential rain. He shook his head helplessly and said to himself: "Fengyang is still the same. If such heavy rain continues for three to five days, it may become a flood disaster." Bar."
Are you worried about the people here?
Hua Yunlong picked up a jar of wine and poured it directly into his mouth. A lot of wine flowed out from his mouth, wetting the clothes on his chest, and splashed on the floor like rain outside the window.
"Your superiors, you have scolded me a lot in the past two years, but it won't make me lose military power, right?"
"Now that Naha is out of business and heading south to Liaodong from time to time, and Wang Baobao is watching eagerly outside the pass, we should be allowed to stay in Peiping to train our troops. What a big deal. As for such an urgent summons, let He Wenhui take charge of the military?"
"I, Hua Yunlong, am loyal to my superior!"
A jar of wine was consumed.
Hua Yunlong closed the window, took off his coat, lay on the bed, staring at the flickering room, feeling drowsy.
Its daybreak.
Sun Jiu, a pro-soldier, knocked on the door, but there was no movement in the room. He thought Hua Yunlong was tired from running around for many days and was sleepy. But after waiting for nearly half an hour, there was still no movement in the room, so Sun Jiu asked someone to open the door. .
After taking a few steps and calling out quickly, he saw Hua Yunlong lying motionless on the bed.
I tested my breath, but there was no breath left.
The pro-army troops panicked.
Sun Jiu looked at Hua Yunlong who had become stiff, knelt in front of the bed, and shouted: "Hua Shuai!"
The wind blew in through the open window, making people feel a chill.
Huaian Hou Hua Yunlong is dead!
Fengyang Magistrate personally investigated and found no trace of someone else committing the crime. After a long investigation, he still didn't know how Hua Yunlong died, so he only came to one conclusion:
Or die of illness.
When the news came flying into Jinling, Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned on the spot and couldn't help feeling sad.
Hua Yunlong was from Dingyuan and one of the twenty-four generals in Huaixi. He followed Zhu Yuanzhang for a long time, including the Battle of Crossing the River, the Battle of Caishi, the Battle of Taiping, the Battle of Jinling, and the Battle of Longjiang...
Fight Chen Youliang, fight Zhang Shicheng, fight Dadu in the Yuan Dynasty, Hua Yunlong's shadow is everywhere.
In the third year of Hongwu's reign, he was granted the title of Marquis of Huai'an!
In recent years, the reputation of guarding Peiping has spread far and wide. Yuan Ting does not dare to easily threaten the surrounding areas of Peiping. Hua Yunlong deserves credit!
But such a person is dead.
The death was inexplicable, the death was unnoticed, and the death was extremely strange.
Hu Mansion.
Hu Weiyong had just finished his dinner when his servants notified Chen Ning, the Zuo Yushi doctor, to see him.
If you want to refuse, you can't imagine that Chen Ning has already entered the mansion and is outside the door, shouting something.
In desperation, Hu Weiyong had no choice but to invite Chen Ning to the study. After serving tea, he asked with a cold face: "It's already night, why can't you explain it in Zhongshu? Why do you have to come to the house?"
Chen Ning snorted: "Zhongshu is not as good as before. There are more ears and eyes now, and it is not as clean as the house. I said Mr. Hu, the Marquis of Huai'an is dead!"
Hu Weiyong picked up the tea bowl and said calmly: "He just died. You and he were not close friends, so you still want to mourn for him?"
Chen Ning shook his head: "His whole family died without doing anything like ours, but Hua Yunlong died suddenly. Hu Xiangbu didn't think it was strange. You must know that Hua Yunlong was a military general, sitting in Peiping, not in charge of military training, but He was in charge of building the city, and he was usually in good health, with no hidden illnesses. Now that he has arrived in Fengyang, he died without any warning, without even leaving a word, which makes people suspicious. "
Hu Weiyong stared at Chen Ning and pointed at the roof: "You don't mean to say that he took Hua Yunlong's life, right?"
Chen Ning said seriously: "It's hard to say, but you know that there are many people in Fengyang who are pro-military, and there are also many people who inspect the school. If they do anything, Fengyang Magistrate's Yamen may not be able to find out. .”
Hu Weiyong thought for a moment and shook his head slightly: "What's the motive?"
"Kill one to serve as a warning to others!"
Chen Ning gritted his teeth and said.
Hu Weiyong squinted at Chen Ning and chuckled: "If the superiors wanted to kill others, how could they send people to do it secretly, or even pretend to die of illness? This kind of death cannot serve as a warning to anyone. Besides, Hua Yunlong The little mistakes he made are not worthy of the murderous intention of the higher-ups."
Chen Ning believed that there must be a conspiracy: "Then how to explain that a good general died suddenly without any warning?"
Hu Weiyong replied calmly: "There's nothing to explain. People sometimes leave without warning. When Chang Yuchun died suddenly, there was no sign at all. You couldn't possibly suspect that someone was targeting him, right? It's a matter of fate. not sure."
Naturally, Chen Ning would not doubt Chang Yuchun's death. He was Zhu Yuanzhang's right-hand man. It was a critical moment in the battle with Bei Yuan, and no one would take action against him at that time.
But Huayunlong is not always in spring, and this is not the time when Beiyuan has not retreated to the desert.
Chen Ning still expressed doubts: "This matter should be investigated carefully!"
Hu Weiyong stood up, walked in front of Chen Ning, and said coldly: "It's unwise for you to do this, and it even makes me suspect that you are a little obsessed. Take a step back, this was done by someone from a higher position. If you find out, you want to Is it embarrassing to be in the position? Besides, there is currently no evidence to prove that it was done by the pro-military governor’s office or the school!”
Chen Ning was horrified. He only felt that there was a conspiracy, but he had forgotten that it would be fine if the conspiracy did not exist. If it existed, wouldn't he be seeking death?
It’s true for myself too.
It shouldn't be mentioned during the investigation. If it is mentioned, it is suspicion of Zhu Yuanzhang. He is a very suspicious person. Now that he suspects that he killed Hua Yunlong, he must not doubt that he has doubted him and then kill himself?
Chen Ning knew the mistake and quickly said: "Actually, I just said it casually. It was an unintentional statement and cannot be true. What does Prime Minister Hu think of Shibosi? Should we stop Shibosi?"
