Chapter 26: Friends and relatives
In Jinan, all command and envoy yamen.
Tang Shengzong sat high on it and beat the drums to encourage the generals.
Tang Shengzong had been living idle at home for many years, and his bones were getting hairy. As soon as he got the order and knew that there was a war, he was even more ecstatic.
Tang Shengzong felt that Fu Youde, a surrendered general, could turn the marquis above him into a prince, couldn't he, Tang, do the same? What's more, Tang Shengzong discovered that his opponent was He Xi. Tang Shengzong still remembers He Xi's embarrassing appearance in Hangzhou.
I don’t think He Xi is anything difficult to deal with.
He has been in Jinan for some time.
However, Jinan has eighteen guard posts and a dozen independent thousand-household posts, with a total strength of more than 100,000. But the problem is that the troops and horses are scattered throughout Shandong. It would take time for Tang Shengzong to gather the guards below.
Wait until He Xi's soldiers invade Texas.
Tang Shengzong gathered eight guard posts, totaling 40,000 people. He originally wanted to wait for the soldiers and horses from Henan to gather. But when I heard that He Xi had already marched south to Texas, and that he only had more than 30,000 troops and less than 50,000 troops, he made up his mind.
Send troops to defeat it.
During this period of time, Tang Shengzong was not unprepared. He made a thorough survey of the guard posts near Jinan, and generally felt that the combat effectiveness of the various guard posts was declining compared to the past. After all, peace lasts for a long time, which is normal.
He didn't think there was any problem.
Tang Shengzong was a general who followed Zhu Yuanzhang from humble beginnings. Naturally, he had his excellence, but he also had his limitations. Because he came from a rough background, he had reached this position with one sword and one sword, and he was extremely experienced in leading troops in battles.
But I don’t pay too much attention to the internal system of the army.
There is no problem with an army of tens of thousands, but it is not possible with an army of hundreds of thousands or even more.
Regarding the understanding of elite soldiers, it is more believed that elite soldiers are produced by killing. Although the Shandong Guard Army is not as powerful as before, it has a large number of people and good physiques. After fighting a few battles and going back and forth in life-and-death situations, it has become a strong soldier.
In fact, Tang Shengzong's understanding was not bad.
In the cold weapon age, this was the case most of the time. Even in modern times, soldiers who have fought in war are more than twice as strong as soldiers who have not fought in war. But the problem is that with the advancement of weapons, the reliance on the status of soldiers has become less and less.
But Tang Shengzong didn't know.
At this moment, he gathered his army and marched out of Jinan in a mighty manner, heading straight for He Xi's headquarters.
When He Xi got the news, he originally wanted to go south along the Wei River, but he could only change his direction. Tang Shengzong cannot be allowed to cut off his retreat.
So, a few days later.
The two sides faced off across the river by a river east of Yucheng.
Tang Shengzong even wrote a handwritten letter asking He Xi to go to the river for a while.
As far as He Xi's true intentions were concerned, he didn't want to go. But Ye Chen really wanted to go.
Ye Chen said: "Sir, General Tang has not fought for many years, and the general will not be able to figure out his methods. The quality of the soldiers and horses of the Shandong Guard is somewhat different from that of the Beijing camp, but it is not much worse. After all, the Shandong Guard was back then. The army also marched north across the Great Wall to resist the Japanese. Therefore, the key to defeating the enemy lies in General Tang. Find out his details. The general would like to meet him. "
"Please don't worry, sir. I will make arrangements. There will be no problem with safety."
He Xi thought for a while and said, "Okay."
Immediately, both sides took a small boat and brought several soldiers to meet each other on the river. They didn't cross the boat to meet each other, but the two boats anchored in the middle of the river. They were several meters apart. The words were clearly visible, but people couldn't leap over. And Ye Chen dressed as a soldier and stood behind He Xi.
He Xi said: "Old Marquis, are you okay?"
Tang Shengzong said: "He consort, you are fine as well."
He Xi said: "Everything is fine, but I didn't expect that the old Marquis and I would meet under such circumstances."
Tang Shengzong said: "I never thought that I would lead troops again. Stop gossiping. He is the beloved son-in-law of the late emperor. Why do you need to mess around? Follow me honestly.
Please go to Nanjing with me to plead guilty. I guarantee that your life will not be in danger, and because of Princess Anqing’s reputation, you will be a wealthy and idle person for the rest of your life. "
He Xi said: "Old Marquis, I have received great kindness from the late emperor, and I dare not repay it. Don't tell me that the old Marquis has not heard the rumors about the capital. The destiny is in the north, but someone has tampered with it. I can't let my master learn from Fusu. Bar."
Tang Shengzong laughed and said: "Fusu is a man who understands. The overall situation has been decided and it is irreversible. If he commits suicide, he will die alone. If he does not commit suicide, he will not die alone. I am also here because of our previous friendship. Let me tell you, I’ll give you one last chance, you have to figure it out.”
When He Xi heard this, he was slightly startled and understood immediately.
As far as Tang Shengzong was concerned, he actually didn't care who Zhu Yuanzhang passed the throne to. Zhu Yuanzhang's suppression of him in the second half of his life had almost consumed the original kindness. His allegiance to the Ming Dynasty is naturally there.
After all, the Ming Dynasty belongs not only to the Zhu family, but also to the founding heroes like them.
But that's all. It is impossible for him to go against his own interests for some random things. So what if Zhu Yuanzhang really passes the throne to Zhu Xiongying? Zhu Yunwen gave them what they wanted. Why should he care about Zhu Xiongying?
He Xi smiled bitterly and said, "Then there's nothing more to say."
Tang Shengzong said: "Indeed, I am here today because of the friendship we had back then. I'll end it here. Please take care of yourself."
Tang Shengzong was actually very cautious. He came here for the same purpose as Ye Chen, to see if He Xi had made any progress. Although Tang Shengzong didn't see much from a few words, one thing he could tell was that He Xi was not very proficient in the art of war.
Although it is a bit exaggerated to say that you can tell who can fight and who cannot fight with just one word. But it is easy to tell at a glance who is in the military camp all year round and who is not in the military camp. If you live in a military camp all year round, you may even have Qiu Ba's spirit.
Tang Shengzong did not see this in He Xi.
Of course, Tang Shengzong also felt a trace of the aura of a famous official in He Xi. In a daze, he felt that people like Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen. However, others may deify these people. But Shengzong of the Ten Tang Dynasties did not know that. He actually knew that Li Shanchang was the best in the world in transporting grain and grass and pacifying the army. Liu Bowen was also extraordinary in his unique strategies and national policies. But letting them lead troops to fight is actually not as good as the founding generals.
Tang Shengzong did not look down on He Xi, but he still felt that He Xi should not come to fight, but sit at the rear, which is what he is best at.
Tang Shengzong thought to himself: "It's a pity. However, this is also my contribution."
Tang Shengzong decided to pursue and fight fiercely to let He Xi know how powerful they were.
The biggest problem with this type of literati leading troops is that they are unable to respond quickly. If the troops are arranged in a serious manner, the civilian officials will actually perform very well. This is reflected in the defense of the city. Many civilian officials are very good at defending the city, because there are not many changes in defending the city, but in field battles It's different. Plans never keep up with changes.
Once things change, these civil servants don’t know what to do.
Tang Shengzong decided to exert extreme pressure and let He Xi feel the pressure. He could not withstand the pressure. As long as He Xi was in chaos, the next thing would be chasing death and chasing north.
Tang Shengzong had made a judgment about He Xi, and Ye Chen was also talking about his feelings towards Tang Shengzong.
Ye Chen opened his hands and said to He Xi, "Sir, please take a look."
He Xi looked at Ye Chen's hands. Ye Chen's hands were very rough. He could only see this and nothing else.
Ye Chen explained to He Xi: "Sir, these are the calluses left by practicing swords and guns for many years." He Xi saw that there were thick calluses at Ye Chen's tiger's mouth and also on his palms. Ye Chen pointed to He Xi's thumb. There were some traces, and he said: "These are the traces left by years of loading gunpowder. They can no longer be washed away."
He Xi saw that Ye Chen's two fingers were rough and even a little black.
Ye Chenyou pointed to the back of his hand and said, "This is because of the burn caused by gunpowder."
He Xi felt increasingly confused and said, "What on earth do you want to say?"
Ye Chen said: "I took a closer look and found that there were many calluses on Mr. Tang's hands.
, swords, guns, bows and horses should all be good. However, there were no traces of gunpowder on his body, and there was no smell of gunpowder at all. "
