Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 173 Turning between hands
"It's snowing quite a bit..."

In the twelfth lunar month of winter, while Zhu Gaoxu in the north was still living on the hot bed with his wife in his arms, there was a troop of thousands of cavalry heading northwest in Nanjing City in the south.

Standing on the city wall, Zhu Yuanzhang, dressed in ordinary clothes, stood on the Jiangdong Gate and lamented the snowstorm this year.

The leaving team was the three thousand cavalry of the Hezhou Guard in front of the palace, led by Changxing Marquis Geng Bingwen and Wuding Marquis Guo Ying.

They came here to review the northwest defense and prepare troops for border training.

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang sent the Hezhou Guards Cavalry in front of the palace to follow them was because he received a piece of information that he considered very important.

That is the black Erhuozhan Khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. He indeed sent his eldest son to Samarkand in order to discuss marriage with Timur.

This news is not good news for Zhu Yuanzhang.

"old……"

Zhu Yuanzhang murmured, he could feel that his body was getting worse every year, especially since this winter, his mind was not as flexible as it was a few years ago, and his body was gradually losing control, as if it was slowing down.

"Will the Hu soldiers from the west really come?"

He turned around and walked towards the city wall, followed by Zhu Yunxi in regular clothes.

The grandfather and grandson walked down the city wall and got into the carriage.

Zhu Yuanzhang kept thinking about this question on the way, that is, whether Timur really wanted to invade the Ming Dynasty.

His past decades of experience told him that it was impossible. Rather than invading the Ming Dynasty, Timur was more like coveting the Eastern Chagatai Khanate and using false roads to attack Guo.

The dark Er Huo Zhe Khan should not be unable to see this Timur's thoughts.

However, even if Timur had false intentions to defeat Guo, this would still be enough to pose a threat to the Ming Dynasty in the future.

"You have to send someone to cheer up that black fireman." Zhu Yuanzhang thought as he sat down in the carriage and drove towards the Forbidden City.

Half an hour later, he returned to the Forbidden City, and Zhu Yunxi also got off the car at the entrance of the East Palace. Zhu Yuanzhang himself went back to Qianqing Palace to change into the emperor's regular clothes.

After cleaning himself up, he went to attend the afternoon court as usual, and he had given full authority to Zhu Yunwen about the affairs of Wuying Palace.

At the moment, he is not sure whether his mind will go wrong or whether he will make any bad arrangements.

Therefore, he let Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Jixi and Zhu Gaochi handle all memorials.

Only after they had finished processing, Zhu Yuanzhang would stay up late at night and read through the memorials, repeatedly weighing every piece of content in each memorial. Only when he was sure it was OK would he issue all the memorials.

He was already a little tired and tired of this kind of life...

But what he hated was what others dreamed of, especially Zhu Yunwen.

[In Guichou of the twelfth lunar month, Li Jingzong, a barbarian from Longshui County, Zhaoqing Prefecture, and others rebelled. Li Jingzong led his party of more than [-] people to attack the Shendian Guards. Guo Ang, the commander of the Shendian Guards, died in the battle. The commander of Guangdong Capital sent troops to attack him]

In Wuying Hall, feeling the warmth in the hall, Zhu Yunwen's heart was also very hot, enough to melt the snow in Nanjing City.

He has been in charge of Wuying Palace for three months. During these three months, everything has passed through his hands. Although he still needs the nod of his own imperial grandfather, no matter what, he is now more like an emperor.

Because of this, Zhu Yunwen looked unhappy when he looked at the memorial of the defeat in his hand. Facing the officials of the Governor's Office who brought the memorial in front of him, Zhu Yunwen threw the memorial on the table.

"Snapped……"

The sound of memorials falling on the table attracted the attention of Zhu Jixi and Zhu Gaochi, who served as Zhu Yunwen's assistants.

They were still wondering why Zhu Yunwen was angry, so Zhu Yunwen coldly asked the Dudu Mansion official in front of him:

"Four hundred thieves attacked and killed 4000 Shendian guards. Is this because the thieves were brave or because the Shendian guards were lax in their weapons?"

"Back to my grandson..." The official knelt on the ground and bowed: "In World War II, Shendian Guards Battalion had only 400 soldiers, and [-] people went to sea to hunt for Japanese pirates. That's why Shendian Guards was attacked."

"Have the Japanese pirates been captured?" Zhu Yunwen asked, raising his chin slightly, but the official was hesitant and speechless. It was obvious that he had not been captured.

"If I remember correctly, the Japanese pirates from Guangdong and Guangxi were all driven to Nanyang by Yang Wen and his fleet, right?"

"The Japanese pirates have been driven away, why are you still searching for them?"

Zhu Yunwen pressed forward step by step, and the official had no choice but to kowtow to the ground: "Please forgive me..."

He seemed to have been waiting for this, so when he saw the official acting like this, Zhu Yunwen stopped saying anything and waved his hand:

"That's all, maybe you are slacking off. After the rebellion is over, Yang Wen is ordered to inspect the Guangdong and Guangxi capital divisions to control their troops and suppress thieves. In addition, he will supervise and train the guards and horses of the Guangdong and Guangxi without delay."

"I accept my order..." Seeing that Zhu Yunwen no longer pursued the matter, the official also breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up, bowed and slowly retreated.

After he completely disappeared, Zhu Yunwen picked up the next memorial.

This memorial was sent by Yang Wen. The content is a detailed description of the land conversion and rebellion in Nandan, Fengyi and Qingyuan.

It was already two years ago that Yang Wenping pacified the Japanese pirates. Since he pacified the last Japanese island in Guangdong and Guangxi last June, the coastal Japanese pirates have fled to Southeast Asia.

Yang Wen had nothing to do, and when it happened that the chieftains of the three regions were not to serve the imperial court, Zhu Yuanzhang sent the chieftains of Guangxi and escorted 9000 officers and soldiers under his control, and recruited the barbarian bandits from Fengyi and other places.

When the locals heard that Yang Wen and his army had arrived and proposed the plan, they fled into the mountains and forests to consolidate themselves.

Yang Wen led the main force of the army to attack the enemy and put it down.

At the same time, rebellions also broke out in Dukang, Xiangwu, Nandan and other places in Guangxi.

Zhu Yuanzhang sent Yang Wen out again, and Yang Wen did not delay after receiving the order, and immediately led his troops to put down the rebellion.

After more than two months of hard fighting, the barbarian rebellion in Guangxi was basically put down.

As if to train him, Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to preside over the local reform after he put down the rebellion, and established the Nandan, Fengyi and Qingyuan guards.

It has been a year since Yang Wen reformed the three guards and returned home, and the results achieved are obvious.

This memorial is Yang Wen's reward for the meritorious generals in the army.

In this regard, Zhu Yunwen also read carefully, but he saw a familiar name in it.

"Yang Zhan, the official of one hundred households in the East China Sea Navy..."

Zhu Yunwen felt that the name sounded familiar, but he didn't think much about it. Zhu Pi agreed and sent the memorial back to the Governor's Mansion for evaluation and promotion.

However, this promotion also made Zhu Yunwen think of one thing, that is, regarding the promotion of Jilin City, his grandfather seemed to have not made a decision.

"..." Zhu Yunwen was silent for a moment, and then he smiled at Zhu Gaochi and said: "Gaochi, Jilin Guards and Shenyang Central Guards Zuojun Qianhu have made great contributions to Jilin City. Has Grandpa Huang been promoted?"

"Never..." Zhu Gaochi replied subconsciously, but he soon realized something was wrong.

After studying at Wuying Palace for two and a half years, he was no longer the novice he was back then. Zhu Yunwen just asked casually and he guessed what Zhu Yunwen wanted to say.

He wanted to open his mouth to continue what he had just said, but before he could open his mouth, Zhu Yunwen said to the eunuch on duty at Wuying Palace next to him: "Go to the Governor's Mansion to get the promotion memorial."

"My slave, take your orders..." The eunuch on duty bowed in return and then left.

While he was leaving, Zhu Gaochi felt uneasy. It wasn't until the sound of footsteps came again half an hour later that he looked nervously at the door of the palace.

He watched the eunuchs on duty walk up to Zhu Yunwen with the memorial from the Governor's Palace, and watched with his own eyes as Zhu Yunwen took the memorial and opened it.

"Zhang Chun...Lin Su...Wang Yi...Fu Rang..."

Zhu Yunwen read the contributions of these people in the Battle of Jilin from top to bottom, and then took a look at the promotions given by the Zuo Army Governor's Office.

Although Fu Rang, a third-rank commander, did not directly participate in the frontal battlefield, he still received part of the credit. The opinion given by the Zuo Army Governor's Office was to promote him from a third-rank guard commander to a second-rank commander. Same knowledge.

As for Zhang Chun and Lin Su, it was proposed to be promoted to the third rank of guard commander, and Wang Yi was promoted to guard commander Qianshi.

In addition, there are a large number of middle and lower-level officers whose names have basically been promoted to one level.

Looking at these names, Zhu Yunwen really wanted to transfer them all to places that 'need' them more.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen picked up his ink pen and added place names in front of the promoted official positions.

[Zhang Chun, Commander of Shendian Guards]

[Lin Su, Commander of Kaiping Right Guards]

【Wang Yi...】

Zhu Yunwen paused his writing, as if he felt that he had moved the generals under Zhu Gaoxu too far, and his intention was too obvious, so he wrote after thinking...

[Wang Yi, Commander of Jilin Guard]

[Meng Zhang, Jilin Guards Commander Qianshi]

[Fu Rang, the commander of the Liaodong capital]

【Liu...】

He wrote down the promotion locations of the winners this time. Nearly one-third of them were transferred to the northwest and southwest, and another third was transferred to Beiping, Liaodong, Daning, Shanxi and other places far away from Jilin. Not too far away.

Zhu Yunwen mercifully left the last third to Zhu Gaoxu.

Looking at the masterpiece he had completed, Zhu Yunwen raised the corner of his mouth:
"Gao Xu, Gao Xu... you are much easier to deal with than Third Uncle."

With this in mind, Zhu Yunwen handed the memorial back to the eunuch on duty and said harmoniously: "Let's issue it like this. There are too many strong generals around Gao Xu. It happened that many military attachés were killed in the battle last year, so they can be used to defend the country and guard the borders. "

Zhu Yunwen's smile was particularly dazzling to Zhu Gaochi, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

He watched the memorial being sent out with his own eyes. In the end, he had to bow to Zhu Yunwen in return, and then returned to his seat to sit down and make suggestions for his administration.

At this moment, he finally knew why his second son no longer had expectations for his grandson.

Even though he had never offended the great-grandson and offered him many helpful suggestions, he could not escape the end of being targeted.

"Gao Xu is like this, what about me..."

Zhu Gaochi asked himself, but there was no answer for him. "There's nothing wrong with this picture..."

Just as Zhu Yunwen transferred the people around Zhu Gaoxu away with a few strokes, the unknowing Zhu Gaoxu was still discussing important matters with a few people in the snow-capped mountains.

The iron smelting yard, an important place where Meng Zhang is stationed...

At this moment, Zhu Gaoxu was sitting in a stone room with a brazier in front of him. Meng Zhang and a young craftsman in his early twenties were sitting next to him.

The three of them were looking at a drawing, and what was drawn on this drawing was enough to change the military process of the entire world.

"Your Highness, can we really do this? We won't behead people..."

After swallowing, the young craftsman in the dark stone house asked worriedly.

In response, Zhu Gaoxu nodded with a smile and said: "Don't worry, I have already informed the court, and your majesty has approved that I can forge cannons."

Artillery, the thing that Zhu Gaoxu had been thinking about, was finally put on the agenda.

Although the mountains were closed by heavy snow, he couldn't bear the loneliness and had already begun to study artillery.

The drawing in his hand depicts three types of artillery with different modulus. Their magnification ratios are 22, [-], and [-] respectively.

In addition to the diameter, the shape of the artillery is also different from the current Hongwu iron cannon, and is more similar to the field cannons of the [-]th and [-]th centuries.

He did not know the internal and external structure of the artillery of this period, so he could only draw from some structures he saw in military museums.

"If you want a cannon to shoot big and far, you have to figure out the diameter, shape, and module, that is..."

Sitting in this dim room, Zhu Gaoxu shared everything he knew with the young craftsman without reservation.

For a skilled cannon-casting craftsman, these things are almost equivalent to learning them from scratch, but for this young craftsman, there is no difference.

It's not that he already understands it, but that he doesn't even know how to cast a cannon.

That's right, he didn't know how to cast cannons. He was originally a clockmaker, and what he did in Nanjing was to cast bells out of clay molds.

Originally, he thought that when he came to Jilin City, he would still be engaged in this easy and complicated craft, but he didn't expect that he had cast dozens of iron bells in the past year and a half.

Zhu Gaoxu's requirements for these iron bells were extremely strange. He did not ask for sound, as long as they were thick enough and without flaws.

Originally, he thought that His Highness wanted to build dozens of cities in this land outside the customs, so he needed so many iron bells.

But ten days ago, after His Royal Highness took him and several of his apprentices to the iron smelting field, he actually discussed cannon casting with him.

Forging a cannon privately was a crime of beheading. Despite Zhu Gaoxu's guarantee, he was still extremely afraid.

"Wang Yuan, what I want you to do is to understand the module of this artillery, constantly adjust the module and diameter, and then use the same gunpowder to fire powerful shells."

In the stone house, Zhu Gaoxu looked at the former bell maker with bright eyes.

Facing his words, Wang Yuan also swallowed his saliva: "If His Highness is really lazy, then the common people are willing to give it a try."

"Okay!" After hearing Wang Yuan's words, Zhu Gaoxu breathed a sigh of relief, and then said to Wang Yuan:

"What you have to do now is to follow this diagram and draw artillery of various modules, and then wait for the beginning of spring to follow the army to Hu Lawen City."

"After arriving in Hulawen City, I will ask Meng Zhang to find a place for you. You can safely make clay molds for the artillery there, and then slowly cast the artillery. Selecting the most practical model is enough."

"From today on, your salary will be increased to [-] guan per year, and each of your apprentices will also receive [-] guan each."

"If you can find the most suitable mold and cast the artillery that the Ming Dynasty needs, then I will reward you with an additional hundred dollars and a hundred acres of mature land."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Wang Yuan's eyes lit up when he heard the reward of money and food.

In this regard, Zhu Gaoxu also smiled. He did not believe that under the offensive of money and food, there would be craftsmen who could keep their true intentions.

"Okay, you can step back and study it carefully."

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand, Wang Yuan bowed happily in return, and then walked out of the stone house with Meng Zhang opening the door.

Meng Zhang at the door signaled the two soldiers to follow him closely. Wang Yuan was well aware of this and did not do anything inappropriate.

After he walked away, Meng Zhangcai closed the door, walked back to his original position and sat down, slightly worried:
"Your Highness, this person is too young and may not have any real ability."

"We can't find anyone with real skills." Zhu Gaoxu chuckled, with a bit of bitterness in his smile.

Yes, how could there be no geniuses in the Ming Dynasty, but those geniuses could not be used by him.

Only a small person like Wang Yuan, who no one takes seriously, can be won over by the current self.

"Get ready, leave the three fields to the care of people you trust, and take some blacksmiths with the army to fight after spring."

Zhu Gaoxu spoke, and Meng Zhang also bowed excitedly: "Yes!"

Zhu Gaoxu could understand Meng Zhang's excitement. After all, Meng Zhang came here to make contributions, but he didn't want to squat in this deep mountain and forest for nearly two years.

Whether it was to pacify Xiyang Ha or to resist the invasion of Hu soldiers, he did not participate in it.

Now that he finally had the opportunity to lead his troops into battle, he naturally would not let this opportunity pass him by.

"How many gun barrels have been made?" Zhu Gaoxu asked again, and Meng Zhang answered truthfully: "More than seven thousand eight hundred."

"Okay!" When he heard that so many gun barrels had been saved, Zhu Gaoxu's smile became even stronger, and he stretched out his hand and patted Meng Zhang:

"Don't leave them behind. They will come in handy when we get to Hulawen City."

"Yes" Meng Zhang nodded, but after a moment he looked worried:
"Your Highness, although we have many brothers now, there are many people and mixed views. I don't know how many people have mixed into Jilin City. We..."

"Don't worry about this." Zhu Gaoxu interrupted him and said:
"Except for the NO.50 people you have on hand for this expedition, the rest are Jurchens who have joined Jilin City this year and received training and do not understand Mandarin."

"I asked you to learn Jurchen language for two years just for this purpose."

"So that's it." Meng Zhang suddenly realized that Zhu Gaoxu asked him to learn the Jurchen language two years ago. He thought it was for the convenience of fighting against the Jurchens in the future, but he didn't expect that it was actually for him to lead Jurchen troops.

"I selected two thousand single men from Udiha to accompany us to Hulawen. If Ataiwailan dares to fight, we will settle old and new grudges together."

Zhu Gaoxu told Meng Zhang unreservedly about his plan, because under Meng Zhang's management, basically no news was leaked in the three games. Otherwise, with Lao Zhu's character, he would write a letter to scold himself, and then kill everyone involved in the forging. Gun barrel craftsmen are indispensable.

In a sense, Meng Zhang is the most trustworthy person for Zhu Gaoxu at the moment.

Allowing Meng Zhang to garrison Hula Wen City, which was about to be captured, was the most reassuring arrangement for Zhu Gaoxu.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu also changed the topic and chatted with Meng Zhang about interesting things in Nanjing.

As the two chatted, they asked someone to bring a few kilograms of rice wine and dried meat. They ate meat and drank wine until late at night before returning to their respective bedrooms to rest.

For more than ten days after that, Zhu Gaoxu did not return to Jilin City, but discussed cannon casting with Wang Yuan and others.

In addition, he also discussed matters such as the barrel and firing device with Wang Yuan and other six masters and apprentices, and left this matter to them.

Zhu Gaoxu provided the general ideas and outlines, while Wang Yuan and others studied the internal mechanical devices.

Originally, Zhu Gaoxu was planning to wait until they had a clue before leaving, but as the new year was approaching, he always had to go back to Jilin City to deal with things.

He returned to Jilin City before New Year's Eve.

Compared with the daily changes in summer and autumn, Jilin City in winter basically maintains its appearance before winter.

This is also helpless. After all, whether it is cement or composite soil, if it is placed outside Jilin City in winter, it will not take long to freeze into a ball, and various projects will not be able to advance.

Zhu Gaoxu was already used to it, so after hurriedly returning home, he returned to the Cunxin Hall to warm up.

Although he had been out for more than half a month, Guo Yan did not show any womanly temper. Instead, she undressed him when he came back.

"It must be a hard trip out. I have never seen such heavy snow in the south."

Guo Yan said distressedly as he untied Zhu Gaoxu's fat red coat that was covered in mud and snow.

"It's just a little muddy, but it's not a problem." Zhu Gaoxu responded with a smile. At the same time, with the help of Guo Yan, he took off his clothes and put on new clothes.

Just after he sat down, Guo Yan took off Zhu Gaoxu's shoes.

Looking at her appearance, Zhu Gaoxu said with shame, "If Marquis Wu Ding sees her, I'm afraid my Jilin City will be razed to the ground the next day."

"Nonsense..." Guo Yan was amused: "My grandfather is not that domineering."

While talking, two maids also brought warm water. Zhu Gaoxu put his legs in and took a comfortable breath.

When Guo Yan saw the maid coming, he also stood aside. All he could see was Zhu Gaoxu: "How long will it take to go to Hu La Wen after the spring begins?"

"If it's faster, it's one month, if it's slower, it's two or three months." Zhu Gaoxu responded subconsciously, while looking back at Guo Yan.

I have to say that Guo Yan's appearance does suit Zhu Gaoxu's taste, but her age makes Zhu Gaoxu a little worried.

If you get married and have children at a young age, it is easy to encounter accidents during childbirth. With the current medical conditions, Zhu Gaoxu still wants to wait.

Regarding this point, when he was writing the "Baby Care Manual", he told Guo Yan. Although Guo Yan heard about it for the first time, he still chose to believe Zhu Gaoxu.

She has been in Jilin City for more than half a year, and she has watched Jilin City become increasingly prosperous under the hands of Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaoxu is not as bad as the noble sons he knew when he was in Nanjing City.

Those noble sons and daughters of Nanjing either play polo all day long or go to the sixteenth floor to find prostitutes. People like Zhu Gaoxu who can make a career are simply searching for sand in the sea.

"For someone like you who doesn't pay attention to etiquette and can still achieve a successful career, it's no wonder that I am willing to let me marry you..."

Guo Yan smiled brightly, and Zhu Gaoxu also lamented: "When I first met Marquis Wu Ding, I never thought that he would be my future grandpa."

"But...it's pretty good."

He glanced at Guo Yan and couldn't suppress the smile on his lips. At this time, the two maids also began to bring plates of New Year's Eve meals to the table.

Looking at the five dishes and one soup, and then at Guo Yan who was embroidering his own clothes next to him, maybe at this moment, Zhu Gaoxu felt a little bit at home.

(End of this chapter)