The First Corrupt Official of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 257 Xu Da becomes Lord Ye’s neighbor, Zhu Yuanzhang and his wife are offended together, Bei Yuan’s last cannon!

The violent sound of hundreds of cannons firing together not only caused the snowflakes on the city wall to fly up, but also caused the frost on the outer facade of the city wall to fall off and fly up.

Even on the mountain where the two ends of the city wall are connected, the trees are also shedding frost.

The snakes and insects that had not hibernated deeply were awakened by the violent noise, and the vultures waiting for food on the mountain suddenly became active.

But whether they were flapping their wings and screaming in place, or flying into the sky and screaming, compared to the violent sound of the cannon, it was as if they didn't exist.

In the sharp eyes of the vultures,
The hundreds of cannons lined up on the city wall with different elevation angles still looked like a regular wavy line composed of black dots, and the fiery red cannonballs they fired still drew parabolas of different heights in the sky.

Not only were hundreds of cannons firing, but there were also thirty giant javelin-shaped arrows that were moving straight forward at extremely fast speeds. Two small kerosene cans were tied to both ends of the arrows.

At this very moment,
The Beiyuan artillery array, which was two hundred steps away from the outermost stone wall of the Stone Wall Maze Formation, had also completed its test firing adjustments and was about to begin their [-] artillery array blasts.

It's just that the shells that have already flown over the high point and begun to hit them will not give them time to ignite and launch.

"how is this possible?"

"Didn't His Highness King Qi say that there are no cannons at the middle gate?"

"."

Before they could utter any more exclamations, just when they had just reacted and started running away, hundreds of blooming bombs produced by the Yanmen Arsenal exploded in their artillery formation with great accuracy.

As far as the Yanmen defenders on the city wall were concerned, what they saw was not only the continuous fire, but also snowflakes flying, water vapor filling the air, green grass flying, soil flying, and arms and legs flying all over the sky!
Of course, what is more obvious and what makes the soldiers more happy is the scene where Bei Yuan's Zhakou copper gun (the cannon of the Yuan Dynasty) flew ten feet high and then fell to the ground.

For a moment, the side of a blown-up copper blunderbuss at the gate, with the inscription "Auspicious day of the second month of the third year of Zhishun, the third hundred mountains of Kou", reflected a little light under the sunlight.

But then, that side was heavily smashed into the soil, and no large inscription could be seen anymore.

At the same time, most of the kerosene jars sent by giant arrows hit their ammunition stacking boxes.

The kerosene was sorted on the ammunition box, and then ignited by flying sparks, and violent explosions sounded again and again.

The fragments of the wooden box turned into "hidden darts" flying everywhere, killing the shirtless Beiyuan artillerymen who were running away with their heads in their hands.

On the city wall, another round of hundreds of cannons fired, and the giant arrows from the bows and crossbows came again with the cans of kerosene!

After repeating this three times, the cannon stopped firing and the crossbow bed stopped firing!

Just because there is no need to waste cannonballs and giant arrows anymore!

In the eyes of the vultures circling in the sky,
On the vast grassland covered with snow, a black isolation line with black smoke and heat appeared directly!
This black isolation line, which is [-] steps wide, is [-] steps away from the city wall and only [-] steps away from the outermost stone wall of the Stone Wall Maze Array.

And not long ago, this black isolation line covered with deformed copper pipes and corpse arms and legs, and still emitting black smoke and heat, was Beiyuan's artillery array!
The artillery array consisting of eight hundred Yuan Dynasty cannons, plus the ammunition boxes and artillery beside the cannons, looks really powerful!
Zhu Yuanzhang stood on the city wall and watched this scene, letting the wind and snow blow his cloak to fly, but his face did not feel as if it was cut by an ice knife.

Because he looked at the scene in front of him and fell into deep thought again.

"If the Yuan Dynasty had used an artillery array of this size to attack our Red Turban Army, would we have been able to blow it up like this without losing a single soldier?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked himself at this point, and immediately lowered his standards: "Can we win?"

Finally, he lowered his standards and said: "How long can we hold on to the defense line? How long can we resist?"

Thinking again about his soldiers and equipment conditions at that time, an answer he didn't want to admit but had to admit soon came out.

It was precisely because of this answer that he didn't want to admit but had to admit that he fell into endless contradictions.

He really wanted the ordnance technology from Yanmen Arsenal, but he also knew that compared to these dead technologies, the talents who created these technologies were the most precious.

Besides, he is still a young man in his twenties!
As long as this person is dedicated to working for Zhu Yuanzhang for the rest of his life, all the technologies he sees now will become a piece of cake!
People will make progress. If you can achieve such an achievement at the age of 20, why not achieve greater achievements at the age of 40, 60 or even [-] or [-]?

Zhu Yuanzhang was determined that Ye Qing at that time would definitely achieve achievements that he could not even imagine now.

Even if Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't see this day coming, his eldest son Zhu Biao, the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty, could definitely see it coming!

But the prerequisite for all this is that Ye Qing must work for him wholeheartedly for the rest of his life.

Without this condition, the more powerful Ye Qing is, the more dangerous he will be!
But judging from Ye Qing's current performance, he really gets a headache just thinking about it. He has to commit the crime of deceiving the king or the crime of disrespect three times if he eats three meals a day!

This is what Zhu Yuanzhang saw and heard with his own eyes.

One can imagine how treacherous Ye Qing would be if he carried Zhu Yuanzhang behind his back.
If you think about it for a moment, you can think of Ye Qing's extremely arrogant "public speech" with his hands on his hips when facing the people.

For example: "The emperor can only keep you from starving to death, but I, Ye Qing, can make you eat until your face is red!"

It's not that Ye Qing has never used such metaphors before, he even admitted generously that he often used such metaphors.

When Zhu Yuanzhang thought of this, his brows wrinkled up!
Yes,

As far as Yanmen County is concerned, such a metaphor is indeed an ironclad fact, but can such a metaphor be said clearly?

He is simply a bastard who has no father and has read all the books of sages into the dog's belly!
But after thinking about it, Ye Qing was not completely rebellious.

He also told the people that although the emperor did not allow everyone to live a good life, he put forward the four goals of "expelling the Hulu, restoring China, establishing an outline and discipline, and relieving the people", and he has achieved the first three goals. .

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that Ye Qing did not completely blackmail him. Instead, he was quite realistic and did not fall short at all where he should be praised!
But even those words that he obviously didn't need to say out loud, Ye Qing tried his best to say out loud!

For example, he conspired to kill Prince Xiao Ming. This was something that everyone in the civil and military dynasties knew about, but no one dared to say it openly.

Everyone knows that at least before Zhu Yuanzhang's death, this matter must not be brought to light.

But it was good for him, Ye Qing, who had just met Mr. Guo and spoke out about this matter not long ago, as if he didn't know how to write the word "death"!
Thinking of Ye Qing's fearless eloquence, he wished he could get rid of Ye Qing right now!
To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that he was a prodigy, Ye Qing would be so tall!
But precisely because Ye Qing was a rare genius, Zhu Yuanzhang was really reluctant to kill him.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang also let out a long sigh again.

"Never mind!"

"After the war, we will wait to see how you, a corrupt official, will pay the agricultural tax. You must not commit any crime here!"

"As long as you pay the agricultural tax truthfully, we will let your head rest on your neck for a while!"

"."

Just when Zhu Yuanzhang made up his mind, General Li smiled and said loudly: "Pass this general's order and report the victory in flag language."

"Wang Baobao's cannons and artillery are all gone!"

As soon as General Li finished speaking, both the defenders on the city wall and the soldiers in formation outside the city cheered loudly.

At the same time, the result that Beiyuan's artillery was annihilated without firing a single shot was also conveyed to Beiyuan's commander's tent.

In the handsome tent, under the candlelight,
There were more than a dozen generals wearing leather armor and carrying scimitars at their waists. They were headed by tribal leaders, looking at Wang Baobao with eager eyes.

The strong smell of gunpowder filled this handsome tent, which was neither big nor small.

Apart from Wang Baobao, Nai'er Buhua was the most capable of fighting. Looking at the dozen or so generals holding the handles of their swords, they were all sweating slightly.

Compared to Nai'er Buhua who was standing next to him, Wang Baobao looked calm.

"Kuokou Timur, you have to remember that you are Kuokou Timur of the Boyetai tribe, not just Wang Baobao who was born in Gushi County, Guangzhou!"

"The reason we suspect you now is that you are secretly colluding with Emperor Zhu. In your first battle, [-] of our tribesmen died tragically. This morning, another [-] tribesmen died tragically. In the afternoon, you lost all our firearms!"

"That's right, why did we believe you, your sister is married to Emperor Zhu's son's relative of the Ming Emperor!"

"."

Wang Baobao did not speak, but listened to these people's doubts and abuses with a calm face.

Because he knew that he had indeed made a mistake!
Thinking about it now, he just felt that he had been tricked by Ye Qing!
At first, because of Ye Qing's political achievements and the news he heard from hearsay, he thought of Mr. Ye, whom he had never met, as profound and mysterious.

So much so that he divided his troops and thought carefully in various ways, which delayed him for so long and put himself in an extremely passive situation.

If he had used the most primitive and most effective method of mass attack at the beginning, with the morale and morale of the army intact, to focus on attacking one branch, nothing like what happened today would have happened.

Thinking of this, he also felt that letting these people scold him and let these people vent their anger was the punishment he deserved!
Finally, these people stopped scolding and just looked at Wang Baobao angrily!
"Have you finished cursing?"

"When you're done scolding me, just listen to what I have to say!"

"You only remember that I was defeated here three times, but don't you remember that I defeated Xu Da last year?"

"Last year, during Emperor Zhu's second Northern Expedition, I killed more than [-] Xu Da's troops and beheaded his commander Zhang Cundao. After Xu Da returned, did Emperor Zhu treat him the same way you treated me?"

"Do you think that Emperor Zhu and I conspired to trick you here and annihilate them, just to sacrifice one general and [-] Ming'erlang?"

"Even if Emperor Zhu can do it, can Xu Da, an upright person like him, do it?"

"He doesn't dare to resist the order, but he dares to pretend to be ill and not take command!"

"But he didn't. This is not enough to prove that I did not conspire with Emperor Zhu. I always remember that I am the expanded Timur of the Boyetai tribe?"

"."

After Wang Baobao moved Xu Da out, no one doubted him anymore.There is no way, Xu Da's influence is so great.

General Xu, who conquered the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, broke the historical formula of unification from north to south, and made extraordinary achievements throughout the ages, has a very high status in the hearts of the people of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.

Especially in the hearts of the Beiyuan soldiers, Xu Daya was far more worthy of their respect than Zhu Yuanzhang!

After Wang Baobao eliminated their suspicions by relying on Xu Da's prestige and upright conduct, he began to summarize his mistakes.

He generously admitted his mistake in front of these subordinates, and admitted that he was wrong because he thought too much, but fortunately they still had 22 troops, and even if they lost their firearms, their strength was still there.

Besides, their firearms are so backward. They are better than nothing. If they are gone, they will be gone!
In addition, they don't have much food now. Even if they retreat to Helin, half of them will starve to death on the road. Rather than fighting for food on the way back, it is better to give it a try.

After Wang Baobao saw the generals nodding, he immediately ordered: "Let all the soldiers in the army have another meal!"

"At half past midnight (four o'clock in the afternoon), the whole army dismounted and turned into infantry, charging with all their strength. I didn't believe that he could kill him!"

"Abandon all the baggage, take only three bows, crossbows and arrows. As long as the wind blows to the south, let my whole army shoot arrows!"

A dozen generals who had just wanted to kill Wang Baobao hammered their left chest with their right hand again, bowed fiercely, and then quickly left the commander's tent.

After Nai'er Buhua confirmed that they were far away, he immediately called for battle: "Your Majesty, let the last general become the vanguard general!"

Wang Baobao just smiled and waved his hand and said: "You still don't understand why I transferred them and put them in the front line of the camp?"

"I don't know exactly when Xu Da will arrive at Yanmen Pass, but it should only be a day or two."

"If Xu Da's army arrives before we break the city, we will have no chance to attack the city!"

"I have to keep a backup plan. Even if they are all dead, I still have a hundred thousand direct descendants. If you are still here, I will still have a chance."

"Li Liyuan grows grass, grows old and grows once a year, the wild fire is endless, and the spring breeze blows and regenerates!"

"Remember this poem, but also remember that only as long as the grass roots are still there, wildfires can never burn out and the spring breeze blows and they can grow again!"

After hearing this, Nai'er Buhua just bowed immediately and walked out of the tent.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Baobao also walked out of the camp. He just looked in the direction of Yanmen Pass, and his eyes suddenly became as fierce as a wolf.

"Lord Ye,"

"No matter how powerful your firearm is, it can't completely cover it, let alone hit it without interruption!"

"I'm paving the way with my life now, how are you going to make a move?"

At this moment, the results of the artillery battle were transmitted back to the combat command room located in the county government center.

Before everyone could regain their composure, Ye Qing immediately said: "Wang Baobao's next tactic must be a human sea tactic!"

"The so-called vanguard army must be an army of [-] tribesmen, and will not be his direct descendants."

"General Xu Da will take care of his direct descendants tonight. We just need to keep those tribal soldiers in the plains outside the city forever!"

"Command General Li to make full use of the advantages of our army's long-range weapons, consume them layer by layer, and prepare for close combat!"

Having said this, Ye Qing looked to the north again and said with deep eyes: "General Xu Da should be here by night."

"Go and personally inform the chef to prepare food and wine for the general and his party, and also have a guest room tidied."

"No, just clean up the room next to mine!"

"Only Xu Da is qualified to be my neighbor, Ye Qing!"

Having said this, Ye Qing looked at Mrs. Guo, who was sitting in the document taking position and could talk to Queen Ma.

Ye Qing looked at Madam Guo and deliberately raised his voice by three points: "As for Your Majesty, he is not worthy of being my neighbor, Ye Qing, for the time being, but the Queen is definitely worthy, there is no doubt about this!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Qing sat back on his superior seat again, first took a sip of hot tea, and then continued to focus on his chess game.

But at this very moment,

The ten young men in Jinyiwei standing in front of Queen Ma took a big breath of cold air one after another, and then their eyes were full of silence.

They have already begun to mourn Ye Qing in advance!
In their view, no matter how great Ye Qing's achievements were, they could not offset the great crime of disrespect he committed today!
His few words not only offended the emperor, but also offended the queen in front of her.

who is the queen

The queen is the emperor's wife!

In front of the queen, he said that the emperor was not worthy of being his neighbor Ye Qing, but the emperor's wife was. Was this because he had thoughts about the emperor's wife?
Of course, they also knew what Ye Qing really meant!
The emperor's reputation outside was indeed not as good as that of the empress. Ye Qing just wanted to use this comparison to praise the empress!

To praise the queen in such an ambiguous way is not only disrespectful to the emperor, but also suspected of teasing the queen!
They only hope that the queen behind them can be generous again!
Queen Ma looked at Ye Qing who was still focused on the chessboard and really wanted to get angry.

She also knew Ye Qing's true intentions, but Ye Qing's eloquence was really getting better and better. If he continued like this, even if he didn't make any mistakes, he would be sent to the guillotine.

Fortunately, her Chongba is not here. If he were here, he would just roll up his sleeves and get started!
She also knew that many officials had the same idea as Ye Qing and preferred to see her, Ma Xiuying, but other officials did not dare to say that!

"After the war, as long as this guy doesn't make mistakes when paying taxes, he has to go to the capital."

"I personally taught him how to speak!"

After making up her mind, Queen Ma was not ready to educate Ye Qing now.

In her opinion, as long as Ye Qing does not leave Yanmen County, he will not accept education from anyone.

She was not in a hurry at all about educating Ye Qing!
Besides, there is a high possibility that he, Ye Qing, is a person whose knees are as soft as his mouth is tough. Maybe after meeting Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, he will kneel down and become a good boy!

She just smiled lightly and said: "You can eat randomly, but you can't talk nonsense!"

"If one day you become an official in Beijing, you won't be able to talk so randomly, and sometimes even mean what you mean."

When Ye Qing heard this, he felt completely bad!
Sure enough, this Mrs. Guo is not easily angered. Trying to provoke her is just a waste of saliva.

He originally thought of using such a sentence to anger Mrs. Guo, who could talk to Queen Ma, so as to achieve the effect of angering Queen Ma through her.

As the saying goes, if you anger Zhu Yuanzhang, you don't necessarily have to die, but if you anger Queen Ma, you must die. However, until Queen Ma's death, no minister could successfully anger Queen Ma.

Now it seems that it is difficult for him, Ye Qing, to become this 'precedent'.

Of course, if he had the opportunity to go to Beijing to meet Empress Ma, he would definitely be sure of it.

It's just that he doesn't even want the chance to enter Beijing!

Thinking of this, Ye Qing didn't even bother to look at Mrs. Guo. He just said casually: "This is the temperament, and it can't be changed in a lifetime."

"If I, the emperor, can't stand it, I don't deserve to have an eternal genius like me!"

Empress Ma only felt that her head was big and she had a headache. This man really couldn't speak accurately. One day he said he was a clumsy person, and the next he said he was an eternal genius.

She can't continue this topic any longer. If she continues, she will roll up her sleeves and hit someone!

She just strongly hinted to herself again that as long as she brought him to the capital and allowed him to see the emperor and empress, his temper would definitely change!

Thinking of this, Empress Ma directly changed the subject and said, "Master Ye is very capable of strategizing and can always come up with the enemy's strategies. I have seen it."

"But why are you so sure that Xu Da will come tonight?"

Ye Qing just raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said casually: "You must know that the time of orders from the Ministry of War are always delayed. In other words, that is the latest time for Xu Da to arrive."

"General Xu Da naturally understands the importance of military speed. He will never arrive at the scene at the latest time. Even if he has to walk for an extra half hour every day, he will take this time."

"The other thing is that for General Xu Da, this is also a battle of revenge. He will definitely arrive before nightfall!"

After hearing this, Queen Ma nodded thoughtfully.

I have to say that Ye Qing's analysis is very reasonable, but the matter of long-distance marching is indeed not easy to predict.

As for whether Xu Da could really arrive at the time predicted by Ye Qing, she couldn't believe it even after listening to Ye Qing's analysis.

But it doesn't matter, it's less than two hours before night falls.

Thinking of this, Queen Ma looked north again.

At this moment, Ye Qing's order was conveyed to the city wall.

All the soldiers were following Ye Qing's orders, and the city wall suddenly became busy.

"Put the intercepted giant arrow next to the crossbow bed that has been modified with an arrow slot."

"Move quickly and place the intercepting giant arrow next to the crossbow bed that has been modified with an arrow slot."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes immediately lit up.

He almost forgot that the weapon that puzzled him the most was called the 'Intercepting Giant Arrow'!
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(End of this chapter)