Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 117

"Great grandson, Duke Ying has passed away..."

In the early morning, when Zhu Yunwen was sitting in front of the bronze mirror in the Chunhe Palace, enjoying the maid washing him, Li Quan, the eunuch in charge of the East Palace, walked behind him and told him the news.

"What did you say?"

Zhu Yunwen suddenly turned his head and looked at Li Quan in disbelief.

"Last night at three o'clock in the morning, Duke Ying passed away at his residence..." Li Quan lowered his head and repeated it.

Before Zhu Yunwen could get over the news, he added: "According to the people below, it seems that His Majesty took a young man to Duke Ying's mansion last night, and Duke Ying passed away after that."

Compared with the news of Fu Youde's death, the news brought by Li Quan surprised Zhu Yunwen even more.

He didn't expect that his grandfather actually went to Duke Ying's mansion after leaving the palace last night, and even brought someone with him.

"Have you found out who the emperor brought with him?"

After a moment of silence, Zhu Yunwen finally got over the news of Fu Youde's death.

From the moment he got the news, he knew that his third uncle wouldn't be able to dance for long.

Although he was happy, he still did not relax his vigilance and asked who the person Zhu Yuanzhang was taking out.

"According to the Jinwu guard at the palace gate last night, when His Majesty went out, he and the three princes were the only ones on the carriage..."

"You mean Yunxi?" Zhu Yunwen frowned slightly, but relaxed quickly.

Zhu Yunxi could no longer threaten his status. He thought his grandfather was just looking for someone to keep him company.

If Fu Youde died at his own request, he could not find him, so only Yunxi was left.

After thinking about the problem, Zhu Yunwen regained his composure and signaled the palace maid to continue combing his hair.

Although he didn't show much thought on the surface, the raised corners of his mouth could not conceal the happiness in his heart.

"Tell these two gentlemen to greet the people below without drawing too much attention to yourself."

"Yes……"

Zhu Yunwen knew that once the news of Fu Youde's death spread, the whole world would be shaken.

The Jinwang faction in the temple will be severely punished, but I and the people below cannot show too much happiness.

Fu Youde is not guilty. If he is too happy, he will only give Zhu Fan a handle.

"What time did grandpa come back last night?" Zhu Yunwen asked subconsciously, and Li Quan answered truthfully: "About midnight."

"At two o'clock in the morning..." Zhu Yunwen muttered this time, feeling a little weird.

The journey from Duke Ying's Mansion to Xihua Gate in the Forbidden City only took two-quarters of an hour at most, but it took my grandfather seven-quarters of an hour.

Even if my grandfather spent some time at Duke Ying's mansion, it wouldn't take him that much time.

Zhu Yunwen was puzzled, but at this time the palace maid also combed his hair crown.

He got up and put on his Yishan hat. After leaving the East Palace, he took a horse and went to Fengtian Palace.

He originally thought that his grandfather would quit his court for Fu Youde, even for one day, but the fact was that his grandfather did not do anything.

When he arrived at Fengtian Hall, the ministers were already standing in the square, and the golden platform at the gate of the hall had been set up, waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang's arrival.

Zhu Yunwen didn't waste any time. After getting off the bus, he stood in front of the left side of the golden platform and waited quietly for his grandfather.

The ministers standing in the square did not know the news of Fu Youde's death. It was not until Zhu Yuanzhang slowly appeared in a chariot a quarter of an hour later and the ministers of Honglu Temple sang a salute loudly that they all bowed and knelt down.

"Long live, long live, long live your Majesty..."

"Be flat!"

Zhu Yunwen was performing his duties as a grandson, but his eyes looked at Zhu Yuanzhang from time to time.

In his eyes, his grandfather was no different from usual. Even if he sat on the golden platform, he didn't show anything wrong.

"If something happens, start playing. If nothing happens, then retreat."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not say anything about Fu Youde, and Zhu Yunwen did not dare to speak when he saw this.

As always, the morning meeting was reported by the six departments of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Governor's Office, and then ended when Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and left.

From the beginning to the end, the three words Fu Youde never appeared in the morning meeting.

Riding in the carriage, Zhu Yunwen looked at his grandfather's back and wanted to know what he was thinking.

But he didn't speak, and Zhu Yunwen didn't dare to ask. He could only follow him through the palace passage, crossed the Sanlong Bridge, and entered the Wuying Palace.

"Wish you good health, grandpa emperor..."

After entering the Wuying Hall, Zhu Jixi, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Shangbing bowed and saluted as usual. Zhu Yuanzhang just responded and sat down.

The three of them wanted to salute Zhu Yunwen, but Zhu Yunwen was not as good as before. He just silently bowed his head and entered the hall and sat down in his seat.

His actions made the three of them look at each other, and they all realized that something might have happened today, so they carefully turned around and returned to their seats to sit down.

"The decree is to make Zhu Gaochi, the direct eldest son of Yan, the Crown Prince of Yan, change the name of Jilin Shipyard to Jilin Guard, and make Yan's second son Xu the Prince of Bohai County. He will be stationed in Jilin Guard, and Jilin Guard will be given as a bodyguard."

"The prince of Bohai County has twenty thousand shi of rice, ten thousand guan of money, twenty pieces of brocade, one hundred pieces of silk, fifty pieces each of gauze, three hundred pieces of silk, five hundred pieces of winter and summer cloth, 1000 taels of cotton, and one piece of salt. Thousands of dollars, five hundred catties of tea, fifty pieces of fodder for the horses every month, and materials for the craftsmen every year for the satin, which can be made by the prince's palace."

"After the beginning of spring, Wang Xu of Bohai County set out to join the vassal state. He was also given 300 Qin horses, [-] draft horses, [-] large food horses, and [-] craftsmen."

"In addition, as he selects 500 bodyguards in Beijing, the Ministry of Household Affairs allocates [-] yuan to the Prince of Bohai County to build a palace. In addition, grain is allocated to be shipped by sea every spring to supplement the Jilin Guard's rations for a year."

On the early morning of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhu Yuanzhang had just sat down and announced an edict that stunned everyone.

First, Zhu Gaochi was canonized as the Crown Prince, and then Zhu Gaoxu was canonized as the Prince of Bohai County, which completely blocked Zhu Gaoxu's path to being selected as the Crown Prince of Yan.

I thought this was enough, but I didn't expect that Zhu Yuanzhang would confer Zhu Gaoxu to a place like Jilin Shipyard where no one can shit.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang later treated Zhu Gaoxu well, not only giving him the Jilin Guard as a guard, but also setting a salary for him that was far beyond the salary of an ordinary county prince.

In terms of annual salary alone, Zhu Gaoxu's annual salary is close to half of the prince's and more than three times that of an ordinary county prince. In addition, he also has Jilin guards as guards, which means he can be regarded as a harshly treated prince. enough.

Such news made Zhu Yunwen and the other four people unable to come to their senses for a long time. When they finally came back to their senses, Zhu Yunwen was wondering why his grandfather was suddenly willing to canonize Zhu Gaojiu, while Zhu Shangbing and Zhu Jixi looked at Zhu Gaochi.

After Zhu Gaochi reacted, he also felt the gazes of the two men.

He looked over, but only saw sneers in their eyes.

Their eyes seemed to be saying, "I didn't expect you to be able to assume the position of Prince Yan in front of Zhu Gaoxu."

Zhu Gaochi was also very uneasy. He didn't understand why his imperial grandfather suddenly ennobled him as the crown prince, but his instinct still drove him to stand up and bow:
"My grandson thanks the emperor for his grace..."

Facing Zhu Gaochi's gratitude, Zhu Yuanzhang only nodded slightly and did not say too many words.

But his arrangement made everyone fall into their own speculations.

Seeing that the written imperial edict was sent out, they could only hold on to their patience and continue processing the memorial, but they couldn't hold it in anymore, and they couldn't help but think of Zhu Gaoxu's expression when facing the imperial edict...

"My Lord, thank you for your grace..."

Contrary to what everyone in Wuying Hall thought, Zhu Gaoxu didn't have much expression when facing this imperial edict. Apart from his pale face, he didn't say much.

The eunuch who delivered the edict handed him the imperial edict, and Zhu Gaoxu also took it and signaled Lin Wuliu, who had just changed his shift in the courtyard, to see off the guests.

After the eunuch who delivered the order was sent away, Zhu Gaoxu turned sideways. In front of him were Wang Jian, who was on duty at Duke Ying's mansion last night, Wu Zhangyi, who was on duty in the courtyard, and Yi Yi, who was wearing a round collar robe next to him. Lose ha.

After receiving the news of Fu Youde's death last night, Zhu Yuanzhang took Zhu Gaoxu and left the Yingguo Palace.

Before leaving, Zhu Gaoxu asked Wang Jian to find him after class, and then got on the carriage.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunxi sent him back to the courtyard, and after he told Wu Zhangyi to stay after changing shifts with his brothers, he went back to his room to rest.

He said it was a rest, but in fact he didn't rest all night. It wasn't until half past midnight, when Wang Jian, Lin Wuliu and others arrived, that he walked out of the house with a nearly collapsed spirit.

Before he could explain anything, the eunuch who delivered the edict came with the imperial edict, and with him came Yi Shiha who had changed into the common people's clothes.

Zhu Gaoxu sat on the corridor of the courtyard, looking at the more than [-] people standing in front of him, waiting for Lin Wuliu to come back.

Looking at his appearance, everyone had a premonition in their hearts.

Not long after, Lin Wuliu came back and called the brothers on duty at the front and back doors into the yard.

Watching them finish gathering, Zhu Gaoxu sat on the corridor and explained:

"You guys should also know what happened. Duke Ying Guo passed away and I was canonized as the King of Bohai County. When spring starts in more than half a month, I will set off for Jilin Guard."

"You have heard the content of the imperial edict. I can choose five hundred guards in Beijing, so I would like to ask you if you want to go to Jilin Weiju Fan with me."

Although Zhu Gaoxu's words were very light, they were deafening to Wang Jian and others.

They belong to the Habayashi Zuowei and are members of the Twelve Guards of Kamizhi. Not only do they have a higher salary than ordinary guardsmen, but they also have more land than ordinary soldiers.

Going to Jilin Guard with Zhu Gaoxu, what can they get?
For a time, many people were shaken, and when Zhu Gaoxu saw their appearance, he did not hide it, but mentioned the conditions:
"I know Jilin is bitterly cold and not as prosperous and comfortable as Nanjing, so I'm not forcing you to leave."

"If you like peace, you can stay in Nanjing City. I won't force you. We will still be brothers in the future. I will also buy you a drink when we meet."

"If you want to make great achievements, then follow me to Jilin. You have also heard about my salary. After discounting, it is about [-] yuan."

"If you go with me, you will be given twenty shi of rice and twelve guan of money every year. If you have achieved military merit, I will recommend it to you. I will not delay your future."

"But in addition to these, I also need to say some requirements."

"If you join my guard, you will not receive food for each battle. You will only receive silver rewards after winning the battle. All the spoils will be turned over to the treasury."

"The palace will only collect [-]% of the grain cultivated by the Jilin Guards for the army, and the rest will go to your family."

"Those who die on the battlefield will receive a pension of one hundred guan from the treasury, and their families can move south to the customs." "Those who are disabled, I will support you for the rest of your life and give you ten guan every year."

Zhu Gaoxu gave what he considered to be the most sincere conditions for recruiting soldiers, and such conditions really impressed many of them.

According to Zhu Gaoxu's payment method, each of them will have at least [-] gu of military pay per year, and their families do not need to turn in the grain that the generals use to farm, and they can keep [-]% of it.

Although none of them knew the yield per mu of Jilin Guard, at least judging from the conditions given by Zhu Gaoxu, they would be more comfortable going to Jilin Guard than staying in Nanjing City.

"These are the conditions for ordinary soldiers..." Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Wang Jian, Wu Zhangyi, Lin Wuliu and others.

"Those who have official positions in the army will have their salaries increased by [-]% under the court's regulations."

Compared with ordinary soldiers, the salaries of officers did not increase much, which made Wang Jian and others hesitate.

However, they all also know that as officers, the greatest benefit they can get is to fight and perform meritorious service, which is something they cannot get in Nanjing.

"I'm single anyway, so I'll go with you!"

"I...I'm going too."

"I'll go!"

As the person with whom Zhu Gaoxu had the best rapport, Lin Wuliu was the first to stand up without any surprise.

After he stood up, several of the twenty or so people also followed, but there were only nine of them, and more people were still waiting and watching.

"Your Highness, we need to go home and discuss it with our family before making a choice."

Wang Jian was not dazzled by military achievements, but calmly explained to the group of people from Xuzi Baihu who did not come forward.

In this regard, Zhu Gaoxu did not stop him and just said: "After you go back, you will also spread the word. If you want to go with me, you will sell your property after the Zhengdan Festival (Spring Festival) and come to me to register so that I can find it before I leave." Sheng commanded the important people."

"In addition to Xu Zi Baihu, you can also send messages to brothers from other Baihu and other guard stations. In short, as long as they are willing to go with me, they will be treated as mentioned before."

"Okay, I don't need you to look after me now. Let's go back and have a good rest and think about it."

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand, indicating to Wang Jian and the others that they could leave.

Upon seeing this, Wang Jian, Wu Zhangyi, and Lin Wuliu led everyone to bow to Zhu Gaoxu, and then left the small courtyard uneasily.

After they left, only Zhu Gaoxu and Yi Shiha were left in this huge courtyard.

Yi Shiha has been serving people in the palace for so many years, and it is easy to serve Zhu Gaoxu alone.

He followed the crowd towards the courtyard door and closed the courtyard door after everyone left before walking back.

"What do you think of what I just said?"

Facing Yi Shiha, who had helped him many times, Zhu Gaoxu still trusted him.

But in response to his words, Yishiha shook his head: "The salary you gave is too high. If you follow this salary, I'm afraid you can only support a thousand guards with your annual salary."

"1000 people is enough." Zhu Gaoxu smiled. He did not plan to raise too many people in the early stage.

"I recruited you, firstly, because of your status as a Jurchen in Haixi, and secondly, because I need you to find out for me the attitude of the Jurchen tribes in Haixi and East China towards the imperial court."

"The third thing is that I really need someone by my side, so you are the most suitable, but..."

Zhu Gaoxu paused for a moment, raised his head and looked directly into Yi Shiha's eyes:

"I think a person like you should not stay in the palace and be a flattering eunuch, but should be a good minister like Yang Zhongsu who can make contributions immediately."

"Slave..." Yi Shiha didn't expect that Zhu Gaoxu would see him like this.

It should be noted that most of the eunuchs during the Hongwu period were Jurchens, Koreans and Semu people. Not only were they inferior in terms of status, they were also physically inferior.

This kind of situation, coupled with years of being looked down upon, has made many people's psychology very distorted. Even if they feel bad about themselves, they occasionally think about the situation where they are the most powerful subordinates.

Just returning to reality, when he looked at his mutilated body, he couldn't do anything except smile helplessly.

But at the moment, as Zhu Gaoxu spoke about himself in his eyes, Yi Shiha couldn't help but ask himself: "The predecessors in ancient times could lead troops to fight in all directions, why can't I?"

After thinking about it, Yi Shiha also bowed to Zhu Gaoxu and said, "If Your Highness does not despise this servant, I am willing to serve as a pawn for His Highness."

"I don't need the front pawns, I want you to control the rear for me." Zhu Gaoxu stood up and helped Yishiha up, his eyes bright:
"Grandpa allowed me to choose [-] craftsmen other than firearms, and [-] guards."

"I will take care of the security matters myself. As for the craftsmen's matters, I need you to go there for me."

"When we go to Jilin, we can't just be satisfied with guarding one side. What I want is for the entire Jurchen tribe to surrender and to expel Wu Liangha from the land of Duoyan Sanwei."

"Jilin currently lacks many craftsmen, so I wrote a list, and you follow this list to find people for me."

"Remember, the craftsmen I want should be single and not tied to family members."

"From now on, it won't be long before the Lantern Festival ends. There are about three thousand coins in the study. I will give all of them to you."

"From today on, you will be the eunuch in charge of my Prince Bohai Palace. If the three thousand strings are not enough, go to the Ministry of Household Affairs to collect my annual salary and sell all the useless cloth."

Zhu Gaoxu's carte blanche made Yishiha feel equality and trust for the first time. Facing Zhu Gaoxu, he could not say anything else and could only repay with actions:
"I know this. Your Highness, please trust me. I will prepare everything before Lantern Festival."

"Okay!" Zhu Gaoxu nodded, and then took Yishiha into the study, handed him the key to the treasure box containing more than 3000 coins, and gave him the wing on the right side of the yard to use as his bedroom.

He and Yi Shiha were heart to heart, and Zhu Jixi, who was in Wuying Hall, also received the news they least wanted to hear.

"Your Majesty Cao Guogong Li Jinglong reports that at three o'clock in the morning last night, Ying Guogong Fu Youde passed away..."

In the Wuying Palace, when Li Jinglong came as Cao Guogong to report the news of Fu Youde's death, Zhu Jixi, who was thinking about the Yan Mansion farce a second ago, was stunned like a lightning strike, and his mind went blank.

"Dong Guo Ying has passed away?!"

Zhu Shangbing and Zhu Gaochi were surprised and looked at Zhu Jixi and Zhu Yunwen in unison.

When Fu Youde died, the one who suffered the biggest blow was undoubtedly the Jin Mansion, while the one who benefited the most was definitely the East Palace.

At this moment, Zhu Jixi was stunned on the spot and did not make any move. On the other hand, Zhu Yunwen seemed to have known all this for a long time.

"No wonder..."

Both Zhu Shangbing and Zhu Gaochi recalled Zhu Yunwen's weirdness when they entered the Wuying Palace today. Now it seems that he and the emperor's grandfather may have known about Fu Youde's death.

"Your Majesty, according to etiquette and law, do you want to give Duke Ying a posthumous title?"

Li Jinglong stood up with Zhu Yuanzhang's understanding and raised this fatal question to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Everyone knew that Fu Youde was innocent and Zhu Fan was guilty. However, the emperor could not kill his own son, so he could only cut off his wings to protect the status of the East Palace.

Now that Fu Youde is dead, how will his posthumous name be determined?
Based on Fu Youde's achievements and his background of resisting the Yuan Dynasty earlier than Zhu Yuanzhang, it is absolutely more than enough to give him a royal title and a posthumous title of Wu Jing.

But if such posthumous gifts and posthumous titles are given, doesn’t it mean that the emperor was wrong?

Asking the emperor to admit his mistakes, I'm afraid I couldn't find anyone in the Ming Dynasty.

From Zhu Yuanzhang's perspective, everything he did was not wrong, but Fu Youde did die innocently.

Thinking of this, everyone in the palace except Zhu Jixi and Zhu Yuanzhang were deep in thought, and Zhu Yuanzhang also said after a moment of silence: "As a matter of course, the posthumous title will be tentatively decided..."

In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang still did not pursue his posthumous title Fu Youde.

After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, the living commentator sitting in the corner also picked up his pen and wrote a line of words.

[Yi Hai and Ying Guogong Fu Youde died]

This simple word "pawn" makes even the daily commentators sigh that accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger.

"How's the situation with Pingwa?"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not dwell too much on Fu Youde's issue, but instead brought the topic to several major events in the Ming Dynasty today.

Li Jinglong was already well prepared to answer this question, so when Zhu Yuanzhang asked it, he said without hesitation:
"Shipyards in Longjiang, Suzhou, Yangzhou, Hangzhou and other places have started construction. From this month to June next year, twelve Dafu ships with a cost of more than [-] yuan will be launched every month."

"Currently, there are 24 Dafu ships in the army, and the remaining [-] warships of various types and less than [-] materials."

"There are more than 1 sailors participating in the encirclement and suppression of Japanese pirates, and there are still more than [-] people waiting for the warships to go to sea to quell the Japanese."

"I expect to completely eliminate the offshore Japanese pirates in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces in April next year, and then move into Guangdong and Guangxi to continue the encirclement and suppression campaign."

"It is expected that the encirclement and suppression will be completed in September. After the Ministry of Rites gives an answer on whether North Korea agrees to the navy entering the coastal waters of North Korea for encirclement and suppression, I can lead the navy to sea to encircle and suppress the northern Japanese pirates."

Because of Zhu Gaoxu's suggestion, no matter whether it was Xu Huizu or Li Jinglong, as long as he was the general in charge of peace, the first thing he did after taking office was to build big ships.

Compared with Xu Huizu, Li Jinglong received more support, so he was able to build dozens of Dafu ships with more than [-] materials in one go.

This kind of strength is enough for him to deal with the Japanese pirates offshore the Ming Dynasty.

However, he also knew that the roots of the Japanese pirates in the Ming Dynasty were in Nanyang. If the Japanese pirates entrenched in Nanyang were not eliminated, even if tens of thousands of Japanese pirate heads were killed now, they would still come back in a few years.

Of course, he knew better that the emperor would not allow him to go to Nanyang for peace, so he only needed to do what the emperor asked him to do.

"I understand, please step back..."

After receiving accurate information from Pingbo, Zhu Yuanzhang also waved his hand to signal Li Jinglong to retreat.

After Li Jinglong withdrew, Zhu Yuanzhang also glanced at Zhu Jixi who was sitting in a daze.

He stood up and walked out. When he passed by Zhu Jixi, he paused for a moment, and then said after a moment of silence:

"Gong Ying is your father-in-law anyway. You will not come to Wuying Palace for the past seven days. Please take the princess to the Duke's Mansion to pay homage..."

After that, he lifted his legs and left the side hall, and Zhu Yunwen followed him after he left.

Zhu Shangbing was worried about any trouble, so he got up and left.

At the end, the only ones who were still sitting in Wuying Hall and had not left were Zhu Jixi and Zhu Gaochi who had suffered great changes.

(End of this chapter)