Father can be an enemy country

Chapter 1251 Gathering of Stars
On the first day of February in the nineteenth year of Hongwu, the day before the army set off.

The generals of the Northern Expeditionary Army led their soldiers to leave military camps in Peiping and assemble in Tongzhou.

The incense case had already been set up in the general's mansion, and Xu Da led the kings and generals to listen to the imperial edict.

Zhu Yuanzhang announced in the imperial edict that the general Xu Da would still control the three armies. Zhen, King of Chuhai and Dian, was appointed as the supervisor of the army, handling military affairs on behalf of the emperor, supervising the generals, and taking charge of the irregularities.

The army was divided into two groups, with Duke Ying Fu Youde as the left deputy general and Yongchang Hou Lanyu as the right deputy general, respectively responsible for commanding the front enemy.

He also ordered Zhao Yong, Marquis of Nanxiong, and Wang Bi, Marquis of Dingyuan, to serve as the left-hand counselors, Dongchuan Marquis Hu Hai and Wuding Marquis Guo Ying to serve as the right-hand counselors. Shang Hao, the former military commander, was appointed as military counselor and led the Northern Expedition with 200,000 troops.

Jin Wang Fan, Yan Wang Di, Zheng Guogong Chang Mao, Cao Guogong Li Jinglong, Shen Guogong Deng Zhen, etc. all led their troops to accompany the expedition... However, Jin Wang set out from Shanxi. He had just arrived in Xuanfu and had no time to rush to Tongzhou, so he Meet the army directly at Xifengkou.

~~
After the kings and generals received their orders, Xu Da raised the tent in the festival hall, and then invited the two princes and Duke Ying to sit down.

As for the rest of the generals, they could only stand under their tents and listen to orders.

Xu Daxian apologized to everyone: "I'm sorry everyone, I can't lead you out in person this time."

"General, what are you talking about? We are content to see you." The generals all laughed and said, "We thought we would never see you again, and we have not had a good year."

"It is indeed very dangerous." Xu Da smiled bitterly and said: "If the two princes hadn't come thousands of miles to rescue me, I would have gone underground to find King Kaiping."

"But now I still can't ride a horse and I don't have the strength, so I can only give you advice from the rear." As he said this, he changed the topic and said: "Fortunately, the Marquis of Yingchuan defeated the enemy unexpectedly and predicted the enemy like a god, comparable to Han Xin; the discipline is strict, and the soldiers use their lives to the best of their ability. , Comparable to Zhou Yafu; he is mature and prudent, and with him leading us out of the border, I will be at ease."

"..." Fu Youde knew that Xu Da was trying to support himself, but he was still so embarrassed that his face turned red.

Fortunately, all the generals were as obedient as kittens in front of Xu Da, and no one dared to talk nonsense.

"You have followed me for more than ten years at least. You naturally know that I run the army with strict words. Now I am giving you orders, and you will follow the instructions of the deputy general Zuo. You will carry out the orders and prohibitions without shirk. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed! You understand. ?!"

"Yes!" The generals listened to the order in panic: "We will obey the orders of Deputy General Zuo!"

"Okay." Xu Da nodded with satisfaction and said to the generals:
"This Northern Expedition is hard-won. It is the result of the imperial court's insistence on opening up border trade for several years and recruiting all Mongolian tribes to surrender. In the winter of last year, Marshal Nailawu from Naha came back with his troops and reported to me a priceless story. The news - because it is extremely cold this year, all the cattle, sheep and livestock will freeze to death if they stay in the Northeast, so Naha led his people to go south to Gyeongju for the winter! "

"The weather has been bad since the winter months last year, with constant wind and snow. Naha led more than 200,000 troops and brought hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep with him. They will definitely not be able to change places before spring."

"He can't change places at the beginning of spring. Unless they don't want their belongings and run for their lives with nothing, they will have to wait until the return period is over before they can move." Lan Yu continued.

"Yongchang Marquis is right." Xu Da nodded and said solemnly: "After receiving the information, I sent the surrendered Mongols to conduct a secret investigation and found that there were indeed a large number of Mongolian tribes stationed in Qingzhou. However, the captives The situation is treacherous, and it is not easy to find out the truth. You should be careful not to advance lightly. After the army reaches Daning, you still need to send people to find out the news about the Yuan army. If the enemy is still in Qingzhou, the left army will immediately launch a surprise attack. . After capturing Qingzhou, the right army immediately moved eastward and captured this position on the west bank of the Liao River——"

Xu Da pointed to an eye-catching red dot on the map behind him and said:
"Because the Liao River is fast and there is no bridge on the river, only this section of the river has shallow water and flat banks, allowing carriages and horses to cross the river and return eastward, so the prince named this place Tongliao! As long as Tongliao is captured, Naha can be blocked from going eastward. Road!" "After we have secured both the left and right roads, our army is sure of victory." Xu Da then said solemnly: "At this time, it is almost time to enter the return period. We can postpone the attack first and attack Kuanhe, Huizhou, and Guangdong. We have built cities in Fuyu and Daning as permanent forts. This time we must cut off the connection between the Northeast and the grassland no matter what!"

"Yes!" The generals loudly accepted the order, and then Chang Mao couldn't help but ask: "General, are we going to do nothing else but build the city?"

"Do it." Xu Da glanced at him, paused for a moment, and then said calmly: "But it's not you who will do it. I have other arrangements. During this period, you must remember to fight with caution. If you fight, you must win without losing. If you lose, you will be subject to military law."

"Yes!" The generals agreed quickly, although they didn't understand what the general meant.

"After the return period, if Naha has not surrendered yet, the entire army will attack and annihilate him west of the Liao River!" Xu Da finally raised his voice and said, "Do you hear me clearly?"

"Listen clearly!" the generals responded loudly.

"The specific combat tasks will be assigned by Ying Guogong according to the actual situation. I will not go into details." Xu Da finally cupped his fists and said to the generals: "Please, everyone!"

"Please rest assured, General, we will fulfill our mission!" All the generals said in unison.

"Go ahead and see you at the swearing-in ceremony tomorrow." Xu Da waved his hand and the generals left.

Only the two princes and Duke Ying did not move.

~~
After all the generals left the festival hall, Fu Youde asked how Xu Da was doing.

"It's what I just said. It's alive, but it's useless." Xu Da smiled bitterly and said: "I tried to ride a horse the day before yesterday, but my legs were weak and I couldn't get up at all. I couldn't sit on the horse even after being helped by others. Don’t live.”

As he spoke, he sighed: "Speaking of which, I'm still several years younger than you. However, you can still lead troops to fight vigorously, but I can only watch."

"You are sick, aren't you? Thank God you can save your life." Fu Youde comforted him and said, "Besides, your achievements have already shocked the past and present, so you have to give us a chance to show your face, right?"

Hearing this, Xu Da apologized to Fu Youde: "Originally, I meant to let you become the general directly, but in the end the emperor still let me bear this title. I'm really sorry, brother."

"What did the general say? The last general to be the left deputy general is already very nervous and walking on thin ice. If you give me another general, how can I control the situation?" Fu Youde smiled bitterly.

What he said was true. Looking at the list of young and energetic princes and princes on the expedition list, his head was as big as a bucket.

He thought that the southern and northern routes were different. During the Yunnan expedition, he could still maintain his authority as a general in the southern expedition in front of Mu Ying, Guo Ying, and Jin Chaoxing. Now that he came to the northern front, facing this group of princes, he really couldn't stand it.

Fortunately, the Sixth Prince was his supervisor, otherwise he would not have dared to take this job.

(End of this chapter)