I saw Zhang Shicheng's face was thin and somewhat shrewd, while Zhu Yuanzhang's face was distinguished by Chinese characters, and he had the aura of a superior person who was not angry and had authority.
"Zhang Shicheng's survival depends entirely on Marshal Du. I dare not not pay my respects!"
After Zhang Shicheng finished speaking, he was about to salute again, but was stopped by Zhu Yuanzhang with force.
After some polite concessions, the two finally asked Zhang Shicheng to give up his plan to continue.
"Marshal Du, the soldiers and civilians in the city are on standby. Marshal Du is invited to come into the city to review!" Zhang Shicheng said loudly.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han looked at each other. They both had the same idea, that is, not to enter the city for the time being.
Gaoyou City is in a miserable state, and you can inspect it if you go in.
If Zhu Yuanzhang was in danger, the Red Scarf Army outside the city would be too late to rescue him.
After all, Zhu Yuanzhang admired Zhang Shicheng, but he didn't completely trust him.
"Marshal Zhang, the soldiers and civilians in the city are exhausted now, so there will be no review!" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said.
Immediately afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang called over another accompanying military ration officer.
he shouted, pointing to the ration officer.
"We order you to take out half of the food and fodder for the army and give it to Marshal Zhang. The brothers in Gaoyou City have not had a full meal for a long time. You must hurry up and do it. If there are still brothers in Gaoyou City before dark, We are hungry, we want your head!"
"Commander, you obey!" the military ration officer immediately went down to handle the matter.
When the sergeants behind Zhang Shicheng heard this, they couldn't help but burst into cheers.
They had been without food for more than a month. They were so hungry that their eyes were glowing green, and they wanted to eat the corpses of Yuan soldiers on the ground.
Now when they heard that Zhu Yuanzhang generously took out half of the army rations, everyone cheered.
When Zhang Shicheng heard these cheers, he fully understood in his heart that Zhu Yuanzhang not only shocked the Gaoyou rebels with his powerful soldiers and horses, but now also used his righteous behavior to convince the Gaoyou defenders from the bottom of his heart.
Zhang Shicheng has now lost more than half of his troops, and most of the surrounding towns have been destroyed by the Meng Yuan. In the future, there is no other way out except to follow Zhu Yuanzhang's footsteps.
If one day he falls out with Zhu Yuanzhang, I am afraid that Zhu Yuanzhang can kill Zhang Shicheng with just a finger.
"Marshal Du, please ask Marshal Du to send someone to take charge of Huaidong affairs in the future!" Zhang Shicheng suddenly said.
In fact, this was Zhang Shicheng's last temptation.
If Zhu Yuanzhang agreed and sent his own people to monitor him, then Zhang Shicheng would definitely be dissatisfied and secretly think of other ways to deal with it.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang's reaction immediately wiped out Zhang Shicheng's last thoughts.
"We are responsible for everything. The marshal here in Huaidong is still Brother Zhang. When the Tatars are cleared, everything will be the same as before. Let's continue to join forces!" Zhu Yuanzhang said with a bold smile.
With these words, Zhang Shicheng was truly convinced.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Shicheng subsequently agreed to maintain their previous nominal affiliation. Zhu Yuanzhang was the marshal of the South Route Army, and Zhang Shicheng was the marshal of the Huaidong Army.
Other transactions such as salt and grain remain unchanged.
However, in order to prepare for the counterattack of the northern and southern Yuan armies, Zhu Yuanzhang will send troops to help defend and establish two Huaidong military camps in the north and south.
One is in Huai'an to the north, with five thousand infantry stationed to guard the Huaihe River.
The other one is in Taizhou on the north bank of the Yangtze River, stationed with eight thousand water infantry to guard against the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Yuan armies, as well as pirates and Japanese pirates.
Yes, that's the Japanese pirate.
Since the Yuan Dynasty, Japan has also entered the troubled times of "North and South Struggle for Hegemony". A large number of Japanese have become Japanese pirates and frequently raided the Central Plains, North Korea and other places.
Under Zhu Yuanzhang's grace, Zhang Shicheng and others agreed without hesitation.
After all, killing the Tartar emperor and defeating a million-strong army all foreshadowed Zhu Yuanzhang's luck, timing and abilities.
Zhang Shicheng had no intention of competing with him, and simply hugged his thigh sincerely.
"Don't worry, Marshal Du. From now on, everything here in Huaidong will follow the arrangements!" Zhang Shicheng said loudly.
Zhang Shicheng's posture was very low, which made Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han very happy.
Especially Zhu Han, Zhang Shicheng, a generation of heroes in history, will probably no longer exist. Zhang Shicheng, a loyal fan of Zhu Yuanzhang, has already appeared.
"We will leave all the Tartar trophies, food, armor, and weapons captured in the army to you to restore the people's strength and military strength."
Zhu Yuanzhang said as he pulled Zhang Shicheng into the camp and sat down.
"What, is what Marshal Du said true?" Zhang Shicheng suddenly looked surprised when he heard this.
His younger brother, generals and counselors behind him also looked surprised.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and nodded. "Yes, we have discussed it with Ahan. Huaidong and Huaixi are all one family. Huaidong must be allowed to restore its civilian and military strength as soon as possible. This will not only be beneficial to resisting Tatar counterattacks, but also a good thing for the people."
In fact, what Zhu Han and Zhu Yuanzhang had discussed earlier was that if Zhang Shicheng was honest, they would leave military supplies to support him. If Zhang Shicheng still had the idea of "self-reliance", then they would take them all away without even a grain of food. Leave it to him.
In today's troubled times, food is the most important thing.
When Zhang Shicheng heard this, he almost burst into tears.
Gaoyou City was besieged for several months, and countless soldiers and civilians died of starvation.
I originally thought that I would have to beg for some food to survive.
I never expected that Zhu Yuanzhang would be so generous and give himself all the captured military supplies with one mouthful.
"Marshal Du's great kindness will be remembered by Zhang Shicheng for the rest of his life!" Zhang Shicheng said with cupped fists and cupped hands.
The Huaidong Rebels behind Zhang Shicheng also showed admiration for Zhu Yuanzhang.
Everyone felt that because of Zhu Yuanzhang's magnanimity and selflessness, they in Huaidong had to be humble and small.
Zhu Yuanzhang's words did not end, he waved his hand and smiled.
"However, all the food and military supplies are left to Huaidong. We will take away all the large and small copper and fire blunderbuss in the Tartar army."
Zhang Shicheng didn't care. "The marshal makes the decision in the whole screen, and I agree with both hands!"
Everyone in Huaidong has already seen that among the soldiers and horses under Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han, the artillery is the most powerful.
A single cannon attack can destroy hundreds of steps of the enemy camp!
Such a powerful thing must be extremely lacking in copper.
They took away all the bronze muskets, and naturally they had to go back and resmelt them.
"In addition, there are also captured horses and prisoners. Let's add two to one to make five, one person and half." Zhu Yuanzhang finally said.
Zhang Shicheng didn't care much about this issue.
He did not have the ambition to gallop northward. The river network in the Jianghuai area did not allow the cavalry to play much space. He only needed to guard the Yantian and Gaoyou Yangzhou areas. A few thousand cavalry was enough, and he did not need too many horses at all.
What's more, horses consume too much grain and fodder.
The cost of raising one horse is enough to feed three or four soldiers. For Zhang Shicheng, having too many horses is simply a waste.
As for the Tatar prisoners, Zhang Shicheng and others did not want them.
He didn't even want to feed the horses, let alone any Tatar prisoners.
These Tatar soldiers are killing people and setting fires in Huaidong. If they stay in the activity, they will die. They will never be kept as hard labor.
After Zhang Shicheng expressed his thoughts, Zhu Yuanzhang was greatly relieved.
He was neither greedy for horses nor wanted prisoners, which meant that Zhang Shicheng really had no intention of expanding his army to realize his ambitions.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself: "It seems that Qi Wu was right. Zhang Shicheng's greatest ambition is probably to guard Huaidong and become a very wealthy salt merchant. He is not a serious king at all."
With Zhang Shicheng's attitude, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally took almost all the horses and prisoners without any courtesy.
There are a large number of industries and mines in Chuzhou that require coolies to fill human lives. These Tatar prisoners must dig some stones and minerals to atone for their sins before they die.
Both sides quickly reached a consensus on all post-war reconstruction and new order.
The infantry in Huai'an, Chuzhou, and the navy in Taizhou are the foundation for their solid alliance.
Zhu Han and Zhu Yuanzhang led their troops to rest briefly in Huaidong, and at the same time asked Xu Da and others to lead their troops all the way north to pursue the remaining Meng Yuan soldiers.
By the time everything was over, nearly half a month had passed.
At this time, the news that the Red Scarf Army Zhu Yuanzhang killed Emperor Meng Yuan and annihilated the million-yuan army had spread throughout the world.
Amid the admiration of all the heroes in the world, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han had already set off to leave Huaidong Gaoyou and returned to Chuzhou.
This time, Zhu Han and his brothers made a lot of money by taking the initiative.
Not only did he become famous all over the world, he also obtained a large amount of seized materials, and he also made a potential rival Zhang Shicheng his subordinate.
"From now on, if we want to keep a low profile, it may not be possible."
Regarding this change, Zhu Han also reminded his brother.
"Qiwu, you originally said that you wanted to delay becoming king, just so that you would not be noticed by the Tatars. Now it's better. The whole world has noticed us." When Zhu Yuanzhang said this, there was no trace of sadness on his face. , instead he smiled broadly.
"Building walls high, hoarding grain widely, and slowing down to become the king, actually still have to be persisted in, but the wall must be built higher and bigger, and the grain hoarding is more and wider. It is not impossible to slow down to become the king. We just need to keep pace with Liu Futong and the others," Zhu Han said.
It is absolutely impossible to keep a low profile after killing Emperor Meng Yuan.
In particular, when Liu Bowen returns to Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, Pingzhang Bolu, Fan Yao and others in Jiangsu and Zhejiang will definitely be shocked and frightened.
In the past, Emperor Meng Yuan threatened to go south at any time, which made them, the ministers of Meng Yuan, have evil intentions. Now that they see Zhu Yuanzhang's strength, they can't help but feel anxious and uneasy.
The trust and interests that the two parties have not long established may be damaged.
"Jiangnan is the money bag. How about we directly send troops to capture Jiangnan?" Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly said.
Zhu Han thought for a while and felt that it was not the best time.
"Bolu and the others are quite honest. If we send troops to attack, it will damage the previous agreement. Moreover, now we are the most dazzling existence among the rebel forces. If we take Jiangnan again, many people will miss us. Zhu Han said.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it and felt that this was the truth.
Just listen to Zhu Han continue to say: "Brother, if you want to win Jiangsu and Zhejiang, you will need at least one year to train a group of our officials and officers in Chuzhou. When Jiangnan is captured, we will use them to quickly replace the officials at all levels in the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty." , control the most basic power, otherwise, even if we get a Jiangnan, we will either use the old officials left over from the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, or choose to promote scholars from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. No matter who we use, we will not be able to fulfill our orders with all our heart. "
What he said was very polite.
Let's not talk about the problem of officials left over from the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. It is very unreliable to say that those scholars in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are very unreliable. Except for a group of famous people such as Liu Ji and Song Lian, many of them are scholars who pay attention to vanity and are far from Zhu Han's ideal governance. There are many differences among officials and officials.
"Well, what you said Qiwu makes sense. We don't feel secure if we don't use our own people." Zhu Yuanzhang said.
When they returned to Chuzhou, before they had time to discuss more arrangements, the special envoy of the 'Emperor of the Song Dynasty' from Yingzhou arrived.
Emperor Zhao Liner of the Song Dynasty sent someone to bring the imperial edict!
Previously, due to the unfavorable battle of the first Northern Expedition to Bianjing commanded by Liu Futong, the Red Scarf Army was somewhat demoralized after retreating from Yingzhou. Just when Liu Futong and others were trying to boost their morale, "Longxing Marshal" Zhu Yuanzhang Yu Hongze The great news came that Hu killed Emperor Meng Yuan and annihilated millions of Tartars.
For a moment, everyone in the Red Scarf Army went from disbelief to ecstasy.
Prime Minister Liu Futong became excited instantly. He felt that Zhu Yuanzhang could achieve such great achievements, and he should have played a big role in containing the "hundreds of thousands" Yuan troops in Bianliang.
Emperor Zhao Lin'er of the Song Dynasty quickly issued an order, taking advantage of Zhu Yuanzhang's huge victory, to announce that the second Northern Expedition would be organized soon!
The Tartar emperor had already been killed by the Red Turban Army. The target of the Northern Expedition this time was no longer the small Bianliang, but directly to the capital of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.
In order to further boost morale, the Song Dynasty court in Yingzhou officially conferred knighthoods on various Red Turban Army generals in the name of Emperor Zhao Lin'er.
Brothers Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han, who are number one in Tianzi, are naturally in the front row.
After seeing off the Yingzhou Emperor's envoy, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han looked at the imperial edict in their hands and couldn't help but smile playfully.
"Haha, this Liu Futong is really good at leveraging our strength to use our victory to give himself the No. 1 reward." Zhu Han said with a smile.
Among a series of awards, Liu Futong ranked first and was promoted to prime minister, commander-in-chief of the world's military forces and marshal, and King Ying.
"It doesn't matter. Liu Futong is the leader after all, so we have no objection." Zhu Yuanzhang said very generously.
In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han's awards were second only to Liu Futong.
Today's Zhu Yuanzhang's status has obviously surpassed that of the other three military marshals. He was named the marshal of the military capital of the South Road, Ji Taiwei, the Prime Minister of Huainan Jiangbei Province, and Wu Guogong.
In less than two years, he went from a young handsome man in Haozhou to the third most popular figure in the Red Scarf Army.
Zhu Han's canonization was not small at all. In addition to the original title of Jiangnan Provincial Pingzhang, he was also granted the title of Marquis of Chuyang and Prince Shaobao, which was enough to give him enough fame and face.
"It's just that Liu Futong and the others are about to make another Northern Expedition, and we need to fund a lot of food and grass." Zhu Yuanzhang was quite reluctant.
"Brother, Yingzhou is too close to us. It would not be a bad thing if Liu Futong and the others do not go northward, but come eastward and southward."
Zhu Han didn't feel sorry for the little food and grass, but was afraid that Liu Futong and the others would stay in Yingzhou.
As long as Liu Futong and others continue the Northern Expedition, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han will be given sufficient time to prepare.
In Zhu Han's heart, he already regarded Jiangsu and Zhejiang as a piece of fat meat on the chopping board.
As for when to cut this big piece of fat, it all depends on when you sharpen the knife.
During this period, if anyone tries to get involved in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Zhu Han will ask his brother Zhu Yuanzhang to fight them desperately.
"I don't know how Liu Futong will arrange this new Northern Expedition plan. When we discuss it, we can provide food and money, but try not to send troops. Let's just say that this time we will destroy the Tatars and the damage will be more serious. We will save some people. Jealous of us again." Zhu Han said.
The Yuan army that wiped out Huaidong this time did not lose too many soldiers and horses. It only lost less than 3,000 people. The rest of the wounded, large and small, had already recovered.
"Okay, Qi Wu, don't worry. When Liu Futong asks us to go to Yingzhou, we will definitely keep these in mind." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.
A few days later.
The Emperor of the Song Dynasty, Han Lin'er, sent another edict to invite Marshal Zhu Yuanzhang of the Southern Route Army to go to Yingzhou to discuss the second Northern Expedition to Mongolia and Yuan Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han were already prepared. They took the captured Mongolian Emperor's dragon robe, jade belt, seal and other treasures and embarked on the journey to Yingzhou.
All the generals of the Red Scarf Army gathered in Yingzhou, and they will see Zhu Yuanzhang's moment of glory with their own eyes.
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Henan, Bianliang City.
Since Hama, the Prime Minister of Zhongshu Province, and others led the released Yuan army back to Bianliang from Hongze Lake, they quickly installed officials in Bianliang, Henan, and attracted Pingzhang Temur of Henan Province and Tuanlian General Cha Han Timur, Li Siqi and others.
Hama and others had just established a political alliance with the generals of Henan Province, and the bad news of Prime Minister Tuo Tuo's defeat and death came from Huaidong.
Suddenly, all the Meng and Yuan officials in Henan were panicked.
The emperor had just died on the front foot, and the millions of imperial troops were destroyed on the back foot.
No matter how you look at it, the Yuan Dynasty is doomed.
"There must be spies of the Red Scarf Thief in the imperial court, otherwise, it would not have been possible for the traitor to break through so quickly!"
Youcheng Hama discussed with Henan Pingzhang Temur, Chahan Timur and others, and prepared to report to the capital, requesting that the crown prince Aiyou succeed to the throne, and then wipe out the remaining evildoers.
Because Hama and others had already concluded that Prime Minister Tuotuo must have wanted to support thieves to respect themselves, but in the end, he failed. Not only did he kill Emperor Tuohuan Timur, but he also lost his life to the rebel army.
The Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty traveled all the way south from Henan Province to Huaidong. If Tuotuo's mistake had not killed the emperor, then the people of Henan Province or the escorting guards such as Hama would have to bear the responsibility.
Reading with rice balls
Under such circumstances, they unanimously targeted the dead man Tuotuo.
Soon, news came from the capital.
The Crown Prince Aiyou, with the support of Empress Qi and others, unsurprisingly inherited the power of the Yuan Emperor and the Mongol Khan.
Moreover, the new emperor Aiyou, who had just taken office, gave his dead father the temple name Huizong. As for the posthumous name, it was too long and the death was too embarrassing, so he had not thought of it for a while.
However, according to the rules after the death of emperors in the middle and late Yuan Dynasty, the new emperor Aiyou gave his dead father the name of the Mongolian Khan, "Uhagatu Khan", which means Mongolians are smart and wise.
Although his death was a bit stupid, it did not affect his choice of a nice Khan name.
but.
When Hama and others in Bianliang City heard the title of 'Uhagatu Khan', they were all stunned.
They were all stunned and speechless.
Even Youcheng Hama, who has a sharp tongue, kept swallowing saliva to relieve his fear and tension.
The people who had these reactions were all high-level officials and generals of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty who had been released from Hongze Lake by the Red Scarf Army.
Temur, Chahan Timur and others in Henan Province did not understand what was going on.
However, they are now political allies and everything has to be figured out.
After seeing off the envoys from Dadu, Temur, Chahan Timur and others from Henan Province began to inquire.
Hama and the others still looked frightened.
Facing the inquiries from several people from Henan Province, Hama and others looked at each other before speaking cautiously.
"Uhagatu Khan! We had already heard of this name before the envoy from Dadu arrived." Youcheng Hama said.
"What?" Temu's face suddenly changed.
"How is this possible?" Chahan Timur even stood up and shouted loudly.
Several other Mongolian and Yuan officials also couldn't believe this statement.
Because, according to the rules of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, their later honorific titles for the Great Khan were already similar to the posthumous titles of the Han people.
Only when the emperor dies can the successor emperor pursue the title of Great Khan.
Before this, it was impossible for anyone to know in advance, unless someone had already prepared in advance and knew that Emperor Yuan would suddenly die soon.
Therefore, what Hama and others said is really shocking.
It can almost be said that someone predicted the death of Emperor Yuan in advance.
"How is this possible? You Cheng, where did you hear this?" Pingzhang Temur of Henan Province asked immediately.
He saw Hama and others looking panicked and frightened, and it didn't look like they were pretending.
Hama then continued: "We heard about it from the red scarf thief!"
"Red scarf thief?"
Temur, Chahan Timur and others were even more shocked.
Afterwards, Hama and others explained one after another.
After they were captured by the Red Turban Army at Hongze Lake Camp, the Red Turban bandit leader Zhu Han released them and said, "Go back and bury your Uhagatu Khan" and asked them to take them back to Meng Yuan. The emperor paid tribute to Timur's body.
After hearing this statement, Pingzhang Temur, Chahan Timur and others from Henan Province all broke into cold sweat on their backs.
"How did the red scarf thief know the late emperor's honorable name in advance?"
"It goes without saying that someone in Dadu must have colluded with the red scarf thief and deliberately let His Majesty die on the battlefield!"
"Who is so bold?"
"Hmph! Whoever benefits from the sudden death of the late emperor is the red scarf thief who colluded with him!"
"Then the emperor died, the prince succeeded to the throne, and Empress Qi took over the power. Is it Empress Qi's conspiracy behind this?!"
Suddenly, the important officials of the Meng Yuan Dynasty in Bianliang City cast all suspicions on the newly crowned Crown Prince Aiyou and Queen Qi.
The more they talk, the more they feel that their inference is completely correct.
Especially Youcheng Hama, who insisted that none of his party had leaked military secrets, was perfectly surprised by the red scarf thief.
Moreover, after the war, the red scarf thieves took the initiative to release all the high-ranking officials of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. This means that there were undercover red scarf thieves hiding among them. They could neither kill nor release them, so they took all the prisoners. Let go.
After clarifying this, Youcheng Hama, Henan Pingzhang Temul and others immediately became furious.
"The Crown Prince conspired with Queen Qi to kill the late Emperor!"
"Without loyalty and filial piety, you have no king and no father!"
"A traitor and a poisonous woman, how dare you inherit the throne?"
"Spread the news to all directions and expose the conspiracy between their mother and son!"
Temur, Chahan Timur and others all started shouting excitedly.
Youcheng Hama and others felt a wave of fear. The imperial edict from the capital had been urging them to escort the late emperor's body back to the capital, and also pardoned their sins so that they could return to the capital with peace of mind.
Now that I think about it, all of this is just a trick to deceive people!
To return to Beijing with peace of mind, the only thing is to trick them back and kill them all to prevent anyone who might leak the secret from living.
"Humph! If Zhu Han, the red scarf thief, hadn't let the news slip, I would have been tricked by this vicious Korean woman, Queen Qi!"
Youcheng Hama was furious and was already planning how to expose Empress Qi, the 'big traitor' who killed Emperor Tuohuan Timur of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.
"Empress Dowager, oh no, it was Empress Qi who also ordered me to escort the late emperor's body back to Dadu. So you are going to attack me!" Henan Pingzhang Temur frowned and clenched his fists.
Hama, Temur and others quickly concluded that Empress Qi not only conspired with the red scarf thieves to kill the late emperor Tuohuan Timur, but also wanted to kill them all, all the loyal ministers of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.
"We must not sit still and wait for death!"
"Everyone, we have to find a way to save Dayuan!"
The capital of the Great Yuan Dynasty, Dadu.
As the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, everything has now been transformed into a state of mourning, and the emperor has entered a state of mourning after his death.
However, even though it was a national mourning, some people were extremely happy.
Empress Dowager Qi was naturally the happiest person.
The emperor's husband, to Empress Qi, simply cannot be compared with the emperor's son.
Moreover, after her son Aiyou ascended the throne, Empress Qi became the only empress dowager. Empress Boyanhudu, who was originally the eldest empress, instantly went from the first in the harem to the one no one cares about. A has-been character.
Empress Dowager Qi was quite good at political maneuvering. After helping her son ascend to the throne, she won over the chief managers of various kings in the grassland and established stability in the rear area.
He also issued an order to pardon You Cheng Hama and other escort officials, generals, and guards for their "inadequate escort" charges, and allowed them to escort the late emperor's body back to the capital.
At the same time, because Empress Dowager Qi came from a powerful family in the Goryeo Kingdom, she quickly asked the Goryeo Kingdom to organize a navy in the name of the Yuan Dynasty's suzerainty, and sent people south to Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces to contact Pingzhang Bolu and others, hoping to It is necessary to restore communication with Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other southern provinces by sea, and resume control of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places.
Finally, in order to suppress the rebels from all walks of life, Empress Qi also ordered to confer Chahan Timur, Li Siqi, Bolu Timur and others to come to Dadu to receive the canonization rewards, and express their gratitude to the new emperor Aiyou and Empress Dowager Qi. Be loyal all at once.
Within the palace.
"Now that all the kings and managers of the grassland ministries have sent people to stay on guard, why are Hama and the others still missing?"
Empress Qi was dressed in a gorgeous Queen Mother dress and was preparing to attend the court meeting.
The new emperor Aiyou has not yet officially ascended the throne. He must bury the late emperor Tuohuan Timur before he can officially proclaim himself emperor.
Therefore, Hama and others who escorted the late emperor's body were very important.
When will Hama and others return to Dadu, and when will the would-be emperor Ai You be able to officially ascend the throne?
Jin Da, the Korean eunuch who was waiting on the side, quickly responded to Empress Qi.
"Your Highness, please send someone to urge him immediately. Hama, the guilty minister, is really in bad shape and needs to be reprimanded." Jin Da said flatteringly.
Queen Qi nodded and asked Jinda to send someone to make arrangements.
However, the so-called reprimand was exempted.
"Hama and the others escorting the imperial guards are all noble sons of Dadu. If they are all offended, it will not be conducive to Aiyou gaining everyone's loyalty in the future. Anyway, Hama will not have much power in the future. When he comes back to Dadu, After the burial of the late emperor, he was immediately demoted to Uzang to feed the animals!" Empress Qi said disdainfully.
After all, Youcheng Hama is the temporary commander-in-chief of the imperial guards, and Empress Qi also plans to maintain him, so as not to cause trouble and affect the enthronement ceremony of her son Aiyou.
Empress Qi then made some calculations. According to her idea, after Aiyou ascended the throne, she would use the soldiers and horses of the kings of the grasslands and the soldiers and horses of Henan and other provinces to suppress the rebels, and use the money and food from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to support the army. , I mostly let the noble guards go to various places to act as supervisors when I was in charge.
In this way, I believe that the arrogance of the red scarf thief will be suppressed soon.
Once the leader of the red scarf thieves, Zhu Yuanzhang and brother Zhu Han, are eliminated, Aiyou's throne will be unbreakable.
Just when Queen Qi was making a perfect calculation, there was suddenly a rush of footsteps outside.
"Queen Mother, Queen Mother!"
"No, it's reversed, it's reversed!"
Immediately, a eunuch ran in in a hurry.
This man is called Pu Da, and he is also an eunuch who pays tribute to the Kingdom of Goryeo. Like Jin Da, he is Empress Qi's most trusted confidant eunuch.
"What's wrong!?" Queen Qi glared, and she already had a bad feeling in her heart.
Pu Da plopped down and knelt on the ground, and said in a panic: "Queen Mother, it's not good. The urgent report just came that You Cheng Hama, Henan Pingzhang Temul and others rebelled in Bianliang. They spread rumors. It was the Queen Mother and Her Majesty the Emperor who killed the late Emperor and refused to obey the orders of the capital!"
When Queen Qi heard this, she suddenly felt like her whole body was shaken.
"Where did the rumors come from? How is this possible!"
Queen Qi thought hard but couldn't figure it out.
He clearly sent people to issue edicts and orders many times, not only to appease guilty ministers like Hama, but also to reward powerful local officials and generals such as Temur and Chahan Timur. Why did they unite and rebel against him?
Not only did he go against himself, but he also told such outrageous lies.
The late emperor was killed by the Zhu brothers, the red scarf thieves. What does it have to do with him who is far away in Dadu?
"Rumors, they must be rumors!"
Of course Empress Qi refused to believe it, and she was not even in the mood to go to the Dachao meeting. She directly sent people to investigate the source of the rumors, and specially sent people to Bianliang to urge Hama, Temur and others to hurry up and get to Dadu.
As long as Hama, Temur and others escort the late emperor's body back, the rumors will naturally be disproven.
but.
What Queen Qi never expected was that this rumor turned out to be true!
Several groups of people came forward and soon confirmed the matter of the Bianliang rebellion.
"Your Majesty, the traitors Hama and Temur rebelled in Bianliang and supported King Polo Timur of Wei as the governor of the country!"
"The Queen Mother, Hama and others are spreading the word to the world that they want to raise troops to enter Dadu!"
"It's not good, Queen Mother, there is something strange happening in the grassland guards in Dadu!"
"Reporting to the Queen Mother, many dignitaries in most cities have fled!"
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King Polo Timur of Wei belonged to one of the few close relatives of Emperor Tuohuan Timur of the Yuan Dynasty. His fiefdom was in Henan. Although he had no talent, he was an imperial uncle with a distinguished status.
Now the king of Wei, Polo Timur, was supported by Hama, Temur and others as the supervisor of the state. He was determined not to give up until the cause of the late emperor's death was investigated. For a while, most people were panicked and rumors were flying all over the sky.
The situation that Queen Qi used to stabilize soon turned into a miraculous mess.
The general managers of the Mongolian kings on the desert grasslands were full of doubts, and they were not as respectful as before.
Yuan army officials in Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Shandong areas all clamored to investigate the traitor and the murderer.
Only Dadu, Liaoyang, and Goryeo still obeyed the orders of Empress Qi and the new emperor Aiyou.
However, even in the capital city, uncontrollable things are gradually happening quietly.
In most restaurants and tea shops, various palace secrets began to become popular.
"Hey, have you heard about it?"
"What, tell me quickly!"
"I heard from my neighbor's second brother-in-law that the death of the late emperor was closely related to Empress Qi. In order for Prince Aiyou to ascend the throne, Empress Qi leaked the late emperor's activities to the red scarf thief, and that's how Hong Ze came to be. Woe to the lake!”
"I've also heard that not only does Queen Qi have a problem, but the Crown Prince Aiyou also has a problem!"
"What's the problem? Come on, tell me."
"I heard that Aiyou is not the flesh and blood of the former emperor, but the result of the secret body refinement between Empress Qi and the Western Region monks!"
"Yes, yes, I have also heard that the late emperor has already noticed that Aiyou is a bastard, and that Empress Qi is extremely promiscuous. He is planning to come back after the imperial conquest to abolish Empress Qi and her son, and establish a new crown prince!"
"Empress Qi seduced the Western Regions monks with her evil deeds, colluded with the red scarf thieves, and killed the late emperor!"
"The loyal ministers Hama, Temur and others were unwilling to let Dayuan fall into the hands of the Demon Queen, so they supported King Wei to supervise the country in Henan!"
All kinds of rumors were flying throughout the capital city, and they soon reached Queen Qi's ears.
"Jin Dae! Park Dae!"
Queen Qi ordered angrily.
Jin Da and Pu Da, the two chief eunuchs of Goryeo, immediately knelt down and obeyed the order.
"You carry this palace's decree to catch all thieves who spread rumors, and don't tolerate even one!"
Empress Qi sent thousands of imperial guards and others to arrest those who spread rumors in the capital city.
but.
Not only did all this not calm down, but it intensified.
More outrageous, absurd and sexy rumors soon spread even more powerfully.
Empress Qi and the would-be emperor Ai You had no choice but to pretend that they had not heard anything.
Although the Mongolian generals and clans in the grasslands and Central Plains were rioting, Liaoyang, Goryeo and other places still obeyed the orders. They sent people into Dadu to escort and firmly supported the legitimacy of the new emperor Aiyou.
Empress Qi and her son Aiyou planned that now that they had the support of the Goryeo vassal state, they could use the Goryeo navy to go south to contact Pingzhang Bolu, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
At that time, Jiangnan's financial and material resources can be used to support Dadu in preparing for war and suppressing the rebellious officials and traitors such as Hama and Temur.
In addition to the state, the officials were appeased.
Winter passes and spring comes.
The Red Scarf Army was in the second year of Longfeng in the Song Dynasty.
Although Emperor Tuohuan Timur of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty was killed at Gaoyou Lake, because the new emperor Aiyou did not officially issue a new era name, it continued to be used for the thirteenth year of Zhengzheng.
After the great victory in the Huaidong War, Zhu Han's Zhuzhou gained a large number of prisoners. Not only the labor force in industry and mining was supplemented, but also the farming in military villages was supplemented by a large number of laborers.
"Sir, all seventeen military villages have been given high-yield seeds and are just waiting to be plowed!"
Shi Naian was holding a pile of documents and was reporting to Zhu Han on the progress of eliminating the state military camp.
After a long period of accumulation, Zhu Han used the system's sign-in rewards to finally stock up on a batch of high-yielding crop seeds.
These improved crop varieties are not just one or two types, but include more than a dozen new crops such as rice, upland rice, corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, etc.
These high-yielding crops, even without the addition of pesticides and fertilizers, can still yield hundreds of kilograms, or even more than a thousand kilograms per mu.
For Zhu Han's strategy of "gathering grain widely", with the help of this batch of high-yielding varieties, one year's harvest is almost equal to the original three to five years' harvest!
"The military camp must do its best to sow new seeds, not only to ensure this year's production and ensure self-sufficiency in military food, but also to set an example for the common people and let them see that the strength of our latest improved seeds is absolutely nothing. Just brag and dispel their worries." Zhu Han said seriously.
After obtaining improved seeds from later generations, Zhu Han once wanted to let the common people who were allocated the fields cultivate them.
However, the local people in Zhuzhou are very worried about sowing food crops that they have never seen before. Except for some upland rice, they are unwilling to cultivate other corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes and other food crops.
The common people are afraid. Once the crops they don't recognize stop harvesting or have production problems, it will not only be a problem of not being able to pay the government grain tax, but also a serious matter in which the whole family will starve to death.
Under such circumstances, most people would not dare to take risks.
Zhu Han did not insist on this. He asked Shi Naian to distribute grain seeds to each military camp. As long as the output of the military camps is announced, I believe the people will rush to beg to plant them.
Today's Chuzhou, Zhu Han's generals include Zhou Dexing, Chang Yuchun, Lan Yu, Hu Yiba, Chen Baodao, Lu Zhongheng and others. It can be said that there are many talents.
As for the civil servants, they were mainly Shi Naian and Hu Weiyong.
Among them, Shi Naian was responsible for military camps, military rations, taxation, planning, industry and commerce, etc., while Hu Weiyong was responsible for minor affairs such as literature and schools.
After all, Shi Naian can
He was a Jinshi in the Yuan Dynasty, but Hu Weiyong was not even a scholar. There was a huge gap between the two in terms of knowledge and reputation.
In fact, even Li Shanchang cannot compare with Shi Naian in terms of knowledge and reputation.
Moreover, Zhu Han still had some grudges about Hu Weiyong's rebellion in history, and he was under serious observation.
"Deputy Marshal, except for the state grain depot, it is almost empty now. It seems that there is no supply of goods. I wonder what the Deputy Marshal is thinking about setting up the safety warehouse that Xianguan proposed before?" Shi Naian asked immediately. .
When Zhu Han heard this, he immediately laughed. The suggestions made by Mr. were very good. Naturally, I did n’t have any problems, and I also sent someone to report to the handsome. Not only should I set up a safe position in the ex -state, but I also set up a safe position in Dingyuan to prevent calamity. "
The so -called Ping An Warehouse is actually a strategic material reserve warehouse.
After several consecutive war, coupled with the grain and grass that supports Liu Futong and other red scarf friends, the grain and grass materials stored by the brothers Zhu Yuanzhang are almost exhausted, and they must be replenished immediately, and they must be replenished to prevent the natural disasters from being caught by the natural disasters in autumn. .
Zhu Han is naturally in favor of this suggestion.
He knew that the frequent natural disasters at the end of the Yuan Dynasty were definitely not that the wind and the wind was smooth in ten years, and even in the history of the Hongwu period in the early Ming Dynasty, it was still frequent. It was because of natural disasters and human disasters that caused riots in the villagers, shocked the upper and lower up and down.
Therefore, for the setting of Ping An Warehouse, Zhu Han had already had a want to send it. After Schinaki mentioned the suggestion, he naturally did not hesitate to agree.
"That would be great!"
Shi Naizheng smiled happily.
Since he has been eliminating the state, he has become the leading think tank conspirator of the Red Scarf Army. Li Shanchang, who is second only to the handsome handsome, has given him a sense of ambition to ambition. In terms of military and political planning, even the favorite Xuan and Liangshan good Han stories can only take time to write occasionally.
Shi Naizheng was just happy, but quickly looked down.
"However, although the salt transactions are profitable today, it is also huge. There are no more money to buy grain and grass supplies. This Ping An Warehouse is established, and I am afraid it is also an empty position." Schinaki said helplessly.
Zhu Han turned his hand to sell salt, and the profit was naturally very rich.
Moreover, as the sales of salt in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other places gradually resumed the establishment of channels, and the sales and profits of salt were steadily increasing.
However, the supply of tens of thousands of military and civilians of the Red Scarf Army, the expenses of the officials of the officials, and the supply of food and grass that supports the friendly army is gradually increasing.
Zhu Han also denied the suggestion of increasing taxes on farmers that Li Shanchang put forward, so that the Red Scarf Army had no extra financial resources at all.
Zhu Han was not worried about this, because all of them were already in his plan.
