Yingtian Mansion, in the imperial palace.
Zhu Yuanzhang was having breakfast with Ma Xiuying, and next to him was the letter sent by Zhu Han.
The more he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, the brighter the smile on his face became.
"We went out in Qiwu and found a lot of talents for us."
Zhu Yuanzhang took the letter and said, "First it was Wei Chengbo, and now it's Meng Duan... I know this Meng Duan. He is an old liar. If we had been a step later when we attacked southern Henan, he would have killed all the Meng and Yuan officials in southern Henan." Oh, this guy... why haven’t I heard his name before?”
Ma Xiuying knew very well: "You don't know his name because he doesn't belong to any family and has committed fraud. The officials in the court don't like him, so they won't let you know Meng Duan's name. In the harem, many father-in-laws knew about his deeds. After all, cheating was always a matter of fun, not to mention that he had deceived the entire southern province of Henan. This legendary story made the father-in-laws in the palace like it very much. , often telling his stories.”
Zhu Yuanzhang knew that the important officials in the court had large or small families behind them. They wanted to insert their own people into the court, but they never thought of bringing outsiders in. Faced with this situation, Zhu Yuanzhang He was also powerless to deal with it, and he wanted to find his own way.
】
After much thought, there was only one way.
"Sister, we want to set up a special department and let them directly report to us and be responsible for helping the court select outstanding talents."
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said to Ma Xiuying: "The officials in charge of assessment in the Ministry of Civil Affairs are indeed good enough, but they cannot be used by us. Behind those people, there are more or less shadows of other forces, and we cannot use them." I felt reassured, so I thought of setting up a team to go to various state capitals and even counties, and if there were outstanding talents, I would write letters and recommend them. However... the requirements for such people are relatively high, and it is also very difficult to do it."
Just one word: difficult.
Facing the difficulties Zhu Yuanzhang encountered, Ma Xiuying didn't know what to do, but she gave an answer that fit Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts: "How about... go to Qiwu and ask?"
"We think so too. It's right to go to Qiwu if there's any trouble, but... what should I do in the future? If I encounter trouble now, I'll go to him. If I encounter something I can't figure out, I'll go to him. What about in the future?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was very confused. He looked at Ma Xiuying and said helplessly: "He is leaving to become a prince on the other side of the ocean... How can I contact him after he leaves?"
Zhu Han would not stay in the court forever. Zhu Yuanzhang had thought about letting him hold an important position in the court, or finding a good place for Zhu Han to be a fiefdom next to Yingtian Mansion, but he didn't want anything. After running to Yinzhou, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't want him to leave, but he had no choice.
Zhu Han has a stubborn temper, and he can't get back what he decided. Zhu Yuanzhang could not persuade Zhu Han to change his mind, so he could only delay Zhu Han's departure as much as possible.
In Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, Zhu Han's status is unique. Every time he sees Zhu Han, he can always think of the two brothers from childhood to adulthood, and he thinks that if it weren't for Zhu Han's persuasion, he might still be here now. In which temple are you begging? There would be no current emperor at all.
Ma Xiuying also knew the status of Zhu Han in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, and also knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was reluctant to separate the two brothers. Zhu Yuanzhang was very disappointed when he mentioned that Zhu Han would leave. She stretched out her hand and shook it with Zhu Yuanzhang: "The boss will be there when the car arrives at the mountain. Lu, Qi Wu wants to leave now, but in the future... maybe not."
"If it really doesn't work... let's train Biao'er well and leave our team to him. From now on, the emperor will let him do it."
Zhu Yuanzhang held Ma Xiuying's hand with his backhand, "Let's go to the other side of the ocean to live a fairy life with Qi Wu."
"What a beautiful thought!"
Ma Xiuying rolled her eyes at Zhu Yuanzhang, "When the time comes, will you be willing to let go of this huge Ming Dynasty?"
"Why don't you want to give up?"
Zhu Yuanzhang answered plausibly, and said to Ma Xiuying: "If there was no Qiwu, how could there be Zhu Yuanzhang now? He helped us get our name, and he was there to help us every step of the way. If we hadn't dragged him down, Maybe who is the current emperor?"
In Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, Zhu Han was more suitable to be the emperor, but he didn't want anything.
Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to say something else, but he thought about it but didn't say it: "Forget it, why are I telling you this? I'll go back and write a letter to Qiwu first."
The content of the letter was mainly about the method he had just proposed to help Zhu Yuanzhang select officials.
…
When Zhu Han came to the grassland, Zhu Yuanzhang's letter also came into his hands. After reading the content of the letter, Zhu Han couldn't help but laugh.
It seems that Jin Yiwei's appearance is inevitable.
However, for the current Zhu Yuanzhang, the purpose of establishing the Jinyiwei is not to supervise the officials, but to help him select officials who can be controlled by him. Today, there are many official factions in the Ming Dynasty. This is not what Zhu Yuanzhang wants to see. Therefore, he wanted to establish a new faction for the court, a faction unique to Zhu Yuanzhang, to ensure that government orders could be issued and carried out unimpeded.
Liu Sanniang was riding a horse on the grassland, while Zhu Han went to the side to reply to Zhu Yuanzhang.
The content is very simple: Since officials are selected, why not supervise all officials?
Zhu Yuanzhang mentioned in the letter that the cultural quality of the team for selecting officials must be high and they must bear the responsibility of selecting officials. This is completely unnecessary in Zhu Han's opinion... Zhu Yuanzhang only needs to ensure that this team is loyal enough to him. , as long as this team does not kill innocent people indiscriminately, and does not get involved or implicated, there is no need to worry too much.
As for the candidate to lead this team, Zhu Han recommended Tang He to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Tang He was Zhu Yuanzhang's fellow villager. He had played with him since childhood and was the first person to seek refuge with Zhu Yuanzhang. After Tang He was crowned king, he returned to his hometown in Fengyang. It can be said that he did not have any factions in the court. You would be very relieved to use him. .
As for what Zhu Yuanzhang mentioned in his letter, he wanted Zhu Han to help him form a team for selecting officials... Zhu Han told Zhu Yuanzhang directly: No.
Too tired to do it.
At the same time, Zhu Han also said that no matter who is the leader of this team, he will be there to help, but he will not be the leader.
At the end of the letter, Zhu Han also helped Zhu Yuanzhang to name the team: Jinyiwei.
The original intention of establishing this Jinyiwei was different from that of the previous life. When Zhu Han chose the name, he borrowed another allusion: wealth does not return to its hometown, just like Jinyiwei walking at night, so it was named Jinyiwei.
After he finished writing the letter to Zhu Yuanzhang, sealed it with wax, and handed it to someone around him to send the letter away, Zhu Han walked towards Liu Sanniang, who was galloping on the grassland.
Liu Sanniang saw Zhu Han walking towards her, and urged her horse to walk towards Zhu Han: "Husband, after a long time I came to the grassland, why don't you ride a horse to play? The sky is vast and the fields are vast, and the sky is like a dome covering the fields... …This is a great place to ride a horse.”
"Ride! Of course!"
Zhu Han walked over, held the reins and got on the horse, just in time to hold Liu Sanniang in his arms. He whispered in Liu Sanniang's ear: "But what's the point of riding a horse alone? It's better to have two people together."
In later generations, Zhu Han had heard of 'Ma Zhen', and he wanted to try it to see if it felt comfortable immediately.
Liu Sanniang noticed that Zhu Han had bad thoughts and looked around uneasily: "Your Highness, don't be like this... It's broad daylight, there are people around."
"It's okay, let's run farther."
Zhu Hancai didn't care so much, and rode his horse towards the deserted place deep in the grassland. At the same time, he reminded the guards without leaving any trace, telling them not to follow him.
Although Zhu Han likes to play, he doesn't want to be seen by others.
When Natalie and Sophia saw Zhu Han and Liu Sanniang running away, they felt a little hopeful and wanted to run over together, but Zhou Zhiruo next to them was watching the two and would not let them follow.
Zhou Zhiruo also wanted to give it a try, but she was too shy to go there... If Zhu Han came over and pulled her onto the horse at this time, she would shyly follow him.
…
Yinli City!
Before reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty arrived, Timur took his people and ran back to the Western Chagatai Khanate.
He couldn't do it without running away. He had a bad encounter outside Yinli City, and even two of his teeth were knocked out. He didn't manage to knock Yinli City down.
This forced Timur to run away with his head in his arms.
With the few soldiers and horses in his hands, Xu Da was able to withstand Timur's artillery attack.
It was Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew Li Wenzhong who led the reinforcements. When he saw Xu Da, he immediately knelt down on one knee: "Big..."
Before he finished speaking, Xu Da pulled him up and said, "Bao'er is here. Not bad. He is becoming more and more like a general."
Xu Da has always been known for his strict military discipline and strict military discipline. Even his son was worthy of his position in the military camp. But now when he faced Li Wenzhong, he abandoned his persistence. Li Wenzhong did not continue to call Marshal Xu Da, but smiled. He shouted "Uncle Xu".
"Come on, let's get into the account first."
Xu Da pulled Li Wenzhong into his tent. Yinli City was attacked by fierce artillery fire, and many houses collapsed. In addition, Xu Da demolished many houses in response to Timur's siege and used the beams as rolling logs. Now The Ming army was helping the people in the city build houses. In order to avoid criticism from others, Xu Da gave his house to the people to stay temporarily while he moved into a tent.
Pulling Li Wenzhong into the tent, Xu Da didn't talk nonsense. He said directly to Li Wenzhong: "Timur took advantage of Yin Li's lack of troops to launch a sneak attack, which made me suffer a painful loss. However, this loss cannot be in vain. We must take revenge and go back. "
It doesn't matter if Timur retreats, Xu Da wants to take revenge himself.
Li Wenzhong understood what Xu Da meant, and he immediately said to Xu Da: "Commander, please give me orders, Wen Zhong will definitely live up to his command!"
"good."
Xu Da pointed at the map and said to Li Wenzhong: "This is Litai, the border city of West Chagatai. After Timur returns, he will definitely rest here. We must give Timur a hard blow here." , but in order to prevent being detected, we must act quickly, and give Timur a hard blow before they can react, and let them know that if they cause trouble for our Ming Dynasty, they must pay the price with blood."
"Bao'er, you take a short rest and lead the elite attack. I will lead the follow-up troops to follow. You must ensure that one of Litai's gates is breached before I arrive."
Li Wenzhong understood what Xu Da meant and clasped his hands in fists: "Yes!"
"Um."
Xu Da couldn't help but remind him, "Bao'er, pay attention to safety."
Li Wenzhong grinned: "Don't worry, uncle, I know what to do."
Xu Da looked at Li Wenzhong and felt a little relieved. Li Wenzhong was considered a good military general in the Ming Dynasty. At first, he took refuge with Zhu Yuanzhang under the leadership of Li Zhen. When he was adopted by Zhu Yuanzhang as his adopted son, he also sent The civil servants and military generals have trained him well, and he has experienced many battles and has become a veteran of many battlefields. Xu Da can feel more at ease with him.
But when Li Wenzhong left, Xu Da reminded: "Don't always think about charging ahead. It's not convenient for you to carry artillery. Get more muskets and explosives."
"Okay uncle, don't worry."
Li Wenzhong grinned innocently, but his expression was also very calm. He waved his hand and said goodbye to Xu Da.
Xu Da said that soldiers need to be quick, and they must rush to Litai City before Timur reacts. This sentence sounds simple, but it is actually very complicated.
As a general, he must consider everything. He can't just follow Xu Da's orders, but also take into account more... What should I do if Timur reacts faster? Did he place any scouts on the road to Litai City?
Therefore, Li Wenzhong made a big detour for him. Between Litai and Yin Li was a small kingdom called Quxian. Their past was currently building a city wall in Liaodong. Li Wenzhong detoured to Quxian, and then started from Quxian, bypassing He took the nearest route to Yin Li and Litai and started from a distance.
In order to rush for time, Li Wenzhong only brought five thousand light cavalry, and they rode two horses. The marching speed was only one word: fast!
He abandoned his baggage, took only weapons and gunpowder, and set off with a light force.
…
Timur is also a veteran.
After being unable to capture Yinli City for a long time, he decisively abandoned the corpses on the ground and ran away. When escaping, he did not forget to leave scouts on the road.
In Timur's view, the Ming Dynasty was not a person who swallowed his losses, and Xu Da was neither. He was the number one military general in the Ming Dynasty. He was trapped in the city for more than half a month and was bound to be angry when he came back to his senses. Revenge, otherwise his title as the number one general of the Ming Dynasty would be lost?
Therefore, Timur sent scouts to guard against Xu Da, and also thought that he could take this opportunity to trick Xu Da.
After all, Timur also had to maintain his prestige in front of his subordinates. The failure to capture Yinli City had already damaged his prestige, and now he had to find a way to make up for it.
Timur and Xu Da fought overtly and covertly from a distance, but they didn't expect it. Li Wenzhong didn't take the ordinary path at all.
It was night, Timur finished handling things and was about to go to rest. Before resting, he asked about the movements of Xu Da, his bodyguard, but the news they got was: Ming's reinforcements had arrived, but they did not leave Yinli City. They seemed to be recharging their energy. sharp.
"What kind of recuperation will be done when the reinforcements arrive?"
Timur cursed, but he racked his brains and couldn't figure out what Xu Da meant.
When it was dawn, Timur couldn't stand it anymore and fell into a drowsy sleep.
