The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

on the grassland.

Yibula was fleeing to his own tribal territory with more than 20,000 of his tribesmen... In this war, he chose the most "safe" way. He did not bring his tribesmen with him when he assembled before the war. When the decisive battle was just halfway through, he fled the battlefield with his more than 20,000 remaining elite cavalry.

At this moment, in addition to being thankful for his fast running speed, he was also fantasizing about becoming the new lord of the grassland.

"Remember, Batu Mongke is dead. The pure bloodline of the Yuan Dynasty can only be passed down in our tribe. We, the Right Wing Wanhu, will represent the last glory of the grassland eagle."

While Yibula was fleeing with his troops, he also used some deceptive rhetoric to make his men work for him.

The tribes on the grassland were divided into ten thousand households. Yibula had just accepted the fiefdom from Batu Mongke. According to the average number of male adults in a family on the grassland, the number of cavalry under his control in his ten thousand households was about 30,000 to 40,000. But in fact... it was not fully staffed now, because in this battle he lost nearly 10,000 of the more than 30,000 soldiers and horses he brought with him.

Afterwards, Yibula was like a rat crossing the street.

Apart from the old cat chasing him from behind, and some fleeing tribesmen he met along the way, none of them looked up to him.

Yibula was also very straightforward. Since you look down on me, I will show my strength as the future Khan of the grassland and destroy you... I will take away your livestock, property, women, etc., and you will have no place to cry.

"Yibula, you are a disgrace to the grassland! If you had not fled the battlefield in advance, perhaps there would not have been a great defeat on the grassland today. You are shameless enough to rob us. You will be spurned by the God of the grassland."

There was not a single one of those who were killed who did not curse or stab.

But Yibula seems to be completely unconcerned about these negative comments.

But the soldiers under his command were more ashamed... Although fleeing from the battlefield was something they wanted to do, any grassland people who had seen the battle scene by the Sosuo River that day would not want to experience it personally, because it was too terrifying for them.

"Grandmaster, if we go back to the right wing, the Ming Dynasty troops there will definitely annex us. Now we'd better go west. Only the west... is not the territory of the Ming Dynasty."

After his men had fled for six days and six nights, they were exhausted and his men began to remonstrate with him.

Yibula looked at his group of cavalrymen who claimed to be elite. Their heavy armor had been discarded. All that was left were horses and some rations. Some of them had injuries. The old, weak and sick ones on the road could no longer keep up with the team and were left behind.

"Alternatively, we can surrender to the imperial court."

Some people are still persuading.

Yibula said: "The Ming Dynasty cannot occupy the grassland for a long time. Their troops will definitely withdraw, and the grassland will be ownerless. If we continue to flee westward, most of the grassland territory will be divided and occupied by those small and medium-sized tribes. How can they occupy such fertile grassland?"

Several senior generals present fell silent.

Yibula continued in an excited tone: "Believe me, as long as we reach the right wing, we will lead the troops through the Hetao area. Then we can continue to graze without hiding, because the Duke of Cai of the Ming Dynasty only brought a few thousand soldiers and horses. They can't completely annex us! As long as we continue to roam the grassland with our tribe, it will be fine!"

"This defeat was caused by Batu Mongke himself. If we don't fight a decisive battle, all the failures will not exist. Even if we don't have the strength to fight the Ming army at present, their cavalry is not as fast as ours. This grassland is our home!"

He was just short of telling his men that we are mice and can compete with the old cat in speed on the grassland. As long as the old cat can't catch up with us, we will still be the awesome lords of the grassland.

But these words obviously could not gather the energy and spirit of his men.

The entire grassland has collapsed, and there are not many people left in his tribe. It is very likely that even the pasture will be gone in the future. Who said that the Ming Dynasty army would only enter the grassland once?
When they see people from the Ming Dynasty again, they can only flee. Leading troops to wreak havoc in the Ming Dynasty territory, to plunder, and to show the power of the prairie eagle are all things of the past and will no longer exist.

……

……

Zhu Youtang personally led 80,000 troops and embarked on a journey to the grassland.

With Zhang Zhou's previous victory, it seemed easy for Zhu Youtang to lead the troops to the battle this time. In addition to cleaning up the battlefield, he also had to show his glory as a descendant of the Zhu family and complete the unfinished business of Zhu Di. When he returned, his achievements would be written up by historians, thus achieving his military achievements in addition to his civil administration.

"Thank you, sir."

Zhu Youtang was riding on a horse, looking at Xie Qian who was also riding on a horse, "I am grateful that you can follow me into the grassland. Even with your sick body, you are not afraid of danger, so how can I retreat? I have something to discuss with you. What do you think about conferring the title of Dingyang County Prince on Bingkuan?"

Xie Qian said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, no one outside the Ming imperial family can be granted the title of king. Even if you want to confer it, it can only be conferred posthumously."

Zhu Youtang said: "No one can match his great contribution in pacifying the grasslands. Why can't I make him a prince?"

"No." Xie Qian seemed very determined, "Unless he has Zhu bloodline, otherwise..."

The implication is already obvious.

If you ask me if I can do it, I will definitely tell you no.

But there is a way. For example, you can give Zhang Zhou the surname of the country, and he will be called Zhu Zhou in the future. You can adopt him as your godson, or recognize him as your brother, and then confer him the title of king. That is equivalent to making a certain concession. Even if there are people in the court who oppose it, they will not be able to oppose it.

Zhu Youtang shook his head and said, "Why should I give him a surname for no reason? Bingkuan has done so much, if I just give him the title of Duke, what is the difference between him and those meritorious officials? I ask you, is there really no other way?"

Xie Qian shook his head and said helplessly, "Your Majesty, once the road to conferring titles is opened, it will be irreversible if the same thing happens again in the future. More people will want to be conferred titles, and any close ministers will try every means to get the titles they want, and the court will be in chaos."

Zhu Youtang asked, "Are you saying that in the future there will be someone like Bingkuan who can easily pacify the grassland and achieve such a great achievement?"

Xie Qian said: "Your Majesty, were the contributions of the founding heroes great? In the end, weren't they only dukes, and could only be crowned kings after their death?"

These words actually convinced Zhu Youtang.

He showed off that he was a good descendant of the Zhu family, but he did not maintain his principles on the issue of ancestral law. This was tantamount to violating the ancestral system, which would reduce his merits. "According to the current schedule, I will be able to meet Bingkuan in another three or two days."

Zhu Youtang sighed, "I really can't think of what I should give him if I meet him! What I can think of is not enough to show his merits. Apart from this dispensable title of a prince, I can't think of anything else."

Xie Qian said, "Why not let me talk to him and let him come up with whatever he wants to think of."

Zhu Youtang shook his head and said, "Given Bingkuan's cautiousness, he would not rashly make excessive requests. He would consider my situation. It is I who feel sorry for him. I can't imagine that he could achieve such success with only 3,000 soldiers... What on earth has he been through? For the sake of the Ming Dynasty, he is willing to use himself as bait. Such a magnanimity has never been seen since ancient times."

The more I talked, the more excited I became.

As an emperor, all he had to do was kneel down before his subjects to thank them for their contributions and achievements.

Xie Qian said: "Your Majesty, that is all what a minister should do."

……

……

The good news from the northwest reached the capital as expected.

Unlike in the past when the news was directly reported to the palace or the government office, this time the emperor intended to inform the people of the capital, so the news was also accompanied by the capital's official bulletins, and within a day, it spread to every street corner.

When the people of the Ming Dynasty learned that the emperor led the army in person and, with Zhang Zhou as the vanguard officer, annihilated hundreds of thousands of Tatar soldiers and horses, captured the young Tatar prince Batu Mongke alive, and tore the Tatars into pieces, the whole capital was filled with jubilation.

The common people spontaneously walked out of their homes and celebrated on the streets. Taverns contributed their best wines and people also hosted banquets at home. Even the Shuntian Prefecture arranged people to post notices everywhere to highlight the merits, and even treated the common people in the city with wine and meat.

Merchants from all over the country also took spontaneous action, and large quantities of supplies were transported to Beijing just for this spontaneously organized celebration.

On this day, Li Dongyang was riding in an official sedan chair back home, but was blocked by too many people on the way. They didn't know who was in the sedan chair, they only knew that it was an official from the Ming Dynasty court. They would go over to congratulate him, say auspicious words, and had no ill intentions, and then they would make way.

Li Dongyang could even see the simple smiles of the people and their sincere congratulations to him through the air vent.

It was a beautiful expectation of the people living and working in peace and contentment, and it seemed that it should be what these officials pursued all their lives. However, the celebration at this moment seemed to have nothing to do with him. He was just a passer-by, and even felt ashamed to be a bystander.

When I got home, the house seemed very quiet.

No one came to congratulate them, and the family also knew that Li Dongyang and Zhang Zhou did not get along, so they did not dare to rashly hold some celebratory activities.

However, Li Dongyang met Li Zhaoxian, who had not been home for a long time, and his daughter Li Yu followed behind him.

"Father," Li Zhaoxian said, "I heard the good news from the northwest and learned that the Ming Dynasty had solved the northern threat, so I came back to congratulate you. From now on, the people of the Ming Dynasty will no longer have to worry about foreign invasions from the north. The people can live and work in peace, and even the court's expenses will be reduced in the future, so more money and grain from the treasury can be used for people's livelihood."

Li Dongyang first waved his hand, signaling his daughter to step aside first.

Then he said to his son in a stern voice: "Do you think that after this battle, the Tatars will be completely destroyed? How big is the grassland? How many soldiers and tribes do they have? Can you explain it clearly?"

"Father, prejudice cannot build the foundation of the court. If you always look at your political enemies with such a narrow vision, it will only plunge the Ming court into endless party struggles. This time, I came back to remind you that you are old and your ability to see problems is not as good as that of young people. Why don't you retire bravely and return to your hometown to enjoy your old age? Leave opportunities to more young people and save the Ming court from disputes?"

Li Zhaoxian was very confident when he spoke.

It was as if he was negotiating with his old father on behalf of Zhang Zhou.

"Go now, and don't come back home anymore." Li Dongyang waved his hand and said, "People with different ideals cannot work together. As a father, I will just pretend that I have never given birth to a son like you."

Li Zhaoxian said, "I am not a rebellious son who has forgotten his ancestors. I know the mission of my family. I came back this time to inform my father that my wife is pregnant again. Perhaps the Li family will have another child... but all this is still unknown."

"what?"

When Li Dongyang heard this, he suddenly felt very powerless.

If he had many sons, he would have given up on this one, but the problem is that he is the only one left.

The grandson is still under the control of his son, and now there may be more grandsons... It sounds very interesting. If he lets his son go like this... Will the grandson still be able to interact with him in the future? Will he still be able to see that precious thing?

Li Zhaoxian sighed, "Father should remember who these two children came from. It was Duke Cai, who saved my life and gave you a son."

"How can a family affair disrupt the order of the court?" Li Dongyang said.

Li Zhaoxian shook his head and said, "Father seems to have forgotten who pacified the grassland and accomplished the feat that will be remembered for thousands of years. You should know that he only brought a few thousand soldiers into the grassland. According to the victory report, he put himself in danger and forced the Tatars to fight him, which resulted in today's victory report. If this still makes you prejudiced, then I can only say... Father, you are hopeless!"

Having said that, Li Zhaoxian seemed to feel proud of himself.

He always felt that he was suppressed by his father, which was why he indulged in women. After he got sick and was redeemed by Zhang Zhou, he seemed to have found the direction of his life again.

That is to follow in Zhang Zhou's footsteps, pursue science and technology, and create a new Ming Dynasty.

"I have one more thing to tell you. I have signed up for the overseas immigration program. It is very likely that I will be in the next batch of people going to sea. I will follow the fleet to overseas, to a place that has never been developed by anyone, and contribute to the Ming Dynasty's overseas business." Li Zhaoxian said.

"What did you say?" Li Dongyang couldn't help but frown.

Li Zhaoxian said, "I know you can't accept it. I will be away for about two years. I originally planned to take my wife and children with me, but this trip is somewhat dangerous. I plan to wait until everything is settled before taking my wife and children over. This is also the greatest sincerity I can leave to my father. If you still can't change after a year... then I will live overseas with my wife and children and never set foot in the Central Plains again." (End of this chapter)