Chapter 64 Wind Mage

Ming Dynasty, the 13th year of Hongwu.

Seeing Li Jinglong escape repeatedly, Li Wenzhong hurriedly bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang and apologized: "It is because of my poor education that the court suffered such a loss..." He sighed in his heart, Jiujiang, Jiujiang, it looked fine at ordinary times, but I didn't expect it to be in such a state when something happened. It would be fine if he lost the battle, but why did he abandon his soldiers and run away? And more than once. There were a full 600,000 troops, minus those who died in the battle, and the rest were just a pile of scattered sand, either captured or escaped. In this way, he will definitely find it difficult to gain trust and lead troops to fight in the future. But what is the value of a military general if he only trains soldiers?
Colleagues around him all silently sympathized with him in their hearts. What a misfortune! It was unfortunate, and he was also unlucky to be released directly by Tianmu.

Zhu Yuanzhang helped him up. After all, he had a special affection for his nephew's family, so he did not blame Li Wenzhong. He just said, "I will not punish people for something that has not happened. However," he changed the subject, "Jiujiang still needs to experience some more, otherwise he will end up like this."

Li Wenzhong hurriedly thanked him, but secretly made up his mind: When I go back, I will send this little bastard to the border army to train him for a few years!

At the Caoguogong Mansion, Li Jinglong sneezed several times in succession, but he didn't take it seriously. He was still wondering why his father went to the palace this time. It seemed that several dukes and marquises had also gone there. It had been a while, when would his father come back?

Tang Dynasty, Zhenguan period.

Watching the King of Yan marching forward in the sky, several generals could not help but admire him repeatedly, and their appreciation was very obvious. But after a while, they sighed again.

Li Jing looked at the scene of the Yan army breaking through the city gate in the miracle and said, "The King of Yan is indeed wise and brave. However, the Yan army also has big problems. After all, the King of Yan is a local lord, not the ruler of the world. He has limited manpower and it is difficult for him to occupy those conquered cities."

Zhen watched all the ministers nodded. As founding ministers, even if they were not military generals, they also had some questions about military affairs and internal political management.

Li Ji also said: "If the Prince of Yan succeeds in ascending the throne, he will definitely go straight to the capital."

[But Zhu Di did not have a smooth journey, he suffered a major defeat.

In September, Sheng Yong replaced Li Jinglong as General Ping Yan and took over Dezhou again.

On October 27, Zhu Di launched a surprise attack on Cangzhou, captured Xu Kai alive, and Cangzhou was also captured; on December 7, he defeated Sun Lin, a general under Sheng Yong, in Huakou.

On December 25, Zhu Di and Sheng Yong fought a fierce battle in Dongchang. Zhu Di did not expect Sheng Yong to have a large number of firearms. At the same time, the Ping'an Army arrived in time and surrounded the Yan Army together with Sheng Yong. As a result, the Yan Army was defeated and tens of thousands of people were killed. General Zhang Yu also died in this battle. Zhu Di broke through the siege and was not in danger.

The journey back to Beiping was not smooth. On the 27th, the Yan army retreated to Guantao, but Wu Jie and Ping An blocked their retreat from Zhending. The Yan army lost its way for a while, and it was not until the fifth day of the first lunar month in the third year of Jianwen that they were able to return to Beiping.

During this battle, Zhu Di was in danger several times. This was inseparable from his preference for charging ahead and leading the troops. This approach certainly boosted morale, but it also posed a considerable risk to him.

Ming Dynasty, the 13th year of Hongwu.

The brothers looked at Zhu Di in a bit of disbelief.

Zhu Zhen, the Prince of Chu, said bluntly: "Fourth brother, you want to conquer the world. On the battlefield, swords have no eyes. You charge in the front. If anything goes wrong, what's the point of victory? We should take care of ourselves."

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao looked at him with some disapproval. Ignoring the fact that Zhu Di was rebelling, it was estimated that Zhu Di would also fight in this style. How could this be possible? In their hearts, their own family was more important after all.

Zhu Di refused, "Dad, big brother, and Old Six, you don't have to look at me." His eyes sparkled, "I am the commander-in-chief, and the soldiers are my subordinates, but they are also my comrades! How can I abandon my comrades and live alone in the rear?
During the Yongle Period of the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Di couldn't help crying.

Zhang Yuda, who was seventeen years old herself, took great care of him.

He also married his daughter Zhang to himself.

(Zhang Yu's daughter married Zhu Di and was Consort Zhaoyi. Zhang Yu's granddaughter married Zhu Gaochi and was Consort Zhangjing.)
Every time he went on an expedition, Zhang Yu would act as a pioneer and fight on the front line.

Be loyal to him.

For Zhu Di, the loss of Zhang Yu was like the loss of his right-hand man.

Zhang Yu is his ace general!
Just like Lan Yu beside Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

Can resist thousands of troops
He had to make up for what he owed Zhang Yu through Zhang Yu's son.

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Li Shimin looked at the scene of Zhu Di leading the charge in the sky, and couldn't help but recall the time when he led his troops to fight before the establishment of the Tang Dynasty. He suddenly felt hopeful: "Keming, I..."

Du Ruhui immediately interrupted him: "No, Your Majesty, you don't want to." He said it so quickly and decisively that Fang Xuanling and others nodded repeatedly.

Your Majesty, don't even think about leading the charge. Don't we have enough generals in the Tang Dynasty?
Li Shimin was a little unhappy, but then he thought of another thing: "What is this firearm? From the name, it seems to be similar to a rocket (with a torch mounted on an arrow). But the shape is very different from a rocket."

Although the sky curtain only passed by, there were still firearms in the picture. It seemed that there were about two types. One was a thin and long cylindrical object with a bulge in the middle held by the soldiers. When the rope connected to the outside of the cylindrical object was ignited with fire, a small ball that looked like an iron bullet would be fired; the other was a larger cylindrical object placed on the top of the city wall. When the rope was ignited, stones and iron blocks would be fired, which was somewhat similar to a catapult. But the power of both of them seemed much greater than the equipment they knew.

"Let the Ministry of Industry start by imitating the appearance first." Fang Xuanling said, "And this firearm is related to fire and explosion, so we can try from that aspect as well."

Changsun Wuji added: "I saw that the projectiles of this firearm were loaded from the front."

Wei Zheng also said: "Your Majesty, perhaps you can order people to search among the people, maybe we can find something."

Li Shimin agreed to all of them: "Good."

The same question also arose in the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang and Liu Che were both very excited, as were the civil officials and military officers. They also saw a type of firearm buried in the soil during the Ming Dynasty (the mine that Zhu Di encountered in Baigou River). They all began to study it.

Song.

Zhao Kuangyin and others saw the power of Ming Dynasty's firearms and became more determined to vigorously develop firearms.

On February 16, the third year of Jianwen, Zhu Di led his army south again. On March 22, he met Sheng Yong again at Jiahe. This time, Tan Yuan died in battle. The next day, the two armies fought again, and at first each won and lost. Then a northeast wind suddenly blew, and the Yan army took advantage of the wind to kill the enemy. Sheng Yong lost tens of thousands of troops, and fled to Dezhou.

Zhu Di took advantage of the victory and used the news that the soldiers were scattered to get food and grass to lure Ping An and Wu Jie. Later, on the ninth day of the third month, the two armies met in Xicheng and fought fiercely for ten days. In this battle, the Yan army beheaded more than 60,000 people, and Ping An and Wu Jie fled back to Zhending.

These two battles established the Yan army's great reputation. After that, many cities surrendered voluntarily, and the balance of victory began to completely tilt towards Zhu Di.

But the huge shortcoming of the Yan army gradually emerged, that is, there were too few people! Although the Yan army basically won every battle, due to the small number of people, it was unable to consolidate the victory in time. It often left after fighting, and could only fully garrison in the three counties of Beiping, Baoding, and Yongping. 】

Ming Dynasty, Hongwu.

The people in the hall were not surprised to see the problem pointed out by Tianmu, because it was an obvious problem.

Why did Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen arbitrarily reduce the power of the vassal kings? In addition to his own brains and skills, a big reason was that the vassal kings were weak. Compared with the central court, the vassal kings were not only weak in terms of military strength, but also in various talents and even the number of people under their rule. The existing military strength, the manpower for governance, the materials obtained, and the potential for war were far inferior to those of the central government. Under normal circumstances, it was naturally impossible for them to have a hostile force against the court. Therefore, Emperor Jianwen naturally felt relieved and bold to act.

However, he did not expect that the level of King Yan was in sharp contrast to his own.

"We are heading south." Xu Da said. This was the best option for the King of Yan to win. Since he couldn't expand now, he might as well go straight to Huanglong. Then there would be no problem consolidating the territory. Besides, wasn't this the reason why the King of Yan started his army?

[Faced with the current problem, Zhu Di decided to go directly south and take the capital.

Many people brought him the news: the capital is empty, now is a good time! These people were officials who came from the capital and were dismissed by Emperor Jianwen.

Monk Daoyan Yao Guangxiao also strongly advised Zhu Di to take the capital directly and not to care about the cities along the way.

On the second day of December, Zhu Di led his troops south again. This time, he went straight to the capital and ascended the throne to be emperor!

Ming Dynasty, the 13th year of Hongwu.

They are heading south! Everyone knows that the final moment is not far away. Many people are thinking that it is now the end of the third year of Jianwen, and according to the current situation, they may reach the capital before the end of the fourth year.

Zhu Yuanzhang said leisurely: "It's this monk Daoyan again. I remember Tianmu said before that you deserve to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

Zhu Di shuddered and said hastily, "I have never seen this person before. Perhaps he was quite capable in civil administration, so he was admitted to the Imperial Ancestral Temple later."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted and turned his attention back to the miracle.
-
Han Dynasty, the first year of Yuanshuo.

Liu Che turned his interested eyes to Wei Qing: "Marquis Guannei, what do you think of the King of Yan's visit?"

Wei Qing pondered: "If we keep up the previous level and go straight to the capital without lingering in the city, we may be able to capture the capital within the year."

Liu Che asked again, "My dear, do you think that what those so-called capital officials said about the emptiness of the capital is true or false?"

Wei Qing said, "It should be true. Since the Prince of Yan started his rebellion, Emperor Jianwen has been sending more troops to the Prince of Yan, from Geng Bingwen's 130,000 to Li Jinglong's 500,000 and then 600,000. Add to that the garrisons of all parties that cannot be moved, and the capital of the Ming Dynasty should not have too many troops to mobilize. Besides, the Prince of Yan can't delay any longer."

[On December 12, the Yan army arrived at Li County.

Zhu Di then sent his general Li Yuan to lead a light troop as an outpost to explore the way, and asked Zhu Neng to lead a thousand light cavalry to Hengshui.

When the news that Zhu Di was heading south again reached the capital, Zhu Yunwen ordered the son-in-law of the emperor, Mei Yin, to garrison Huai'an and recruit Huainan militia, claiming to have 400,000 men, in order to suppress Zhu Di.

In the first month of the fourth year, Zhu Yunwen sent Xu Huizu, Duke of Wei, to lead a part of the troops in the capital to Shandong to reinforce.

During the Hongwu Period of the Ming Dynasty

"Huh?" Xu Da didn't expect that in addition to Li Wenzhong seeing Li Jinglong, he also saw his eldest son Xu Huizu. Why did he eat the melon? He didn't want to see his family, not at all!
Others did not worry about Xu Huizu. After all, they had just been sent out, and it was still unclear what would happen. Moreover, with Li Jinglong's example, they would not care too much about Xu Huizu. They only thought of one question now. Zhu Yunwen sent people to guard Huai'an, which seemed to be no problem, but would it really work?

Now we know that Zhu Di won in the end, but there is a practical problem: the capital is in the south, and there are a lot of water nearby. Zhu Di did not have sailors, so he must not have or did as little water warfare as possible. But there are a lot of rivers and lakes near Huai'an. In other words, where did he get the sailors? Oh, isn't that another traitor?

[Li Yuan led his troops to Gaocheng, where he fought against more than 10,000 cavalry and infantry led by Ge Jin, the defender of Dezhou, and defeated Ge Jin, killing more than 40,000 people. When Zhu Neng arrived in Hengshui, he met Ping An and also defeated him, and captured the commander Jia Rong.

The Yan army then marched straight down to Guantao, and after crossing the river on the 12th day, they successively captured Dong'e, Dongping, Wenshang, and Shan County in Yanzhou.

On the 27th, the Yan army arrived at Pei County. Upon seeing the arrival of the Yan army, the commander Wang Xian opened the gate and surrendered.

Zhu Di did not stop, as there were still Southern Army garrisons near him, including He Fu, Ping An, Chen Hui in Jining, and Sheng Yong in Huaishang, which was obviously a threat to the Yan Army. He needed to make them unable to threaten him in the short term, so Zhu Di planned to cut off the Southern Army's food and grass.

In February, Zhu Di sent the Mongolian general Kuan Tai to lead 12 cavalrymen to investigate. When they arrived in Zou County, they found 3,000 soldiers of the Southern Army. So Kuan Tai led his men to rush directly into the Southern Army's camp and shouted loudly, "The King of Yan's army has arrived!" The 3,000 soldiers immediately panicked and fled.

On the 21st, the Yan army attacked Xuzhou. The soldiers in the city were defeated after leaving the city, so they chose to hold their ground.

But this was not enough. In order to make the defenders in the city dare not attack the Yan army and create a safe rear, Zhu Di first laid an ambush and lured the soldiers in the city out. After many times, the soldiers in the city completely lost the courage to leave the city.

Zhu Di no longer cared about Xuzhou and continued to head south. 】

Ming Dynasty, Hongwu.

"The morale of the imperial army has been lost!" Xu Da shook his head. Perhaps some armies with great generals, such as those under Sheng Yong and Ping An, are still okay, but the morale of the garrisons in these local prefectures and even the garrison commanders has long been shaken by the reputation of the Prince of Yan! "The Prince of Yan is truly a natural talent in military affairs!"

It's no wonder that some of these defenders surrendered directly. The court did not make any strong counterattacks, and the King of Yan was close at hand. Besides, this was the emperor's family affair after all... Many people thought of this, but no one dared to say it out loud. Wansui is still here! Although Wansui doesn't seem to have any emotions now, everyone is still very scared.

(End of this chapter)