Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 237 Prince Ning Returns

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

In Prince Ning's Mansion, when the sound of hurried footsteps and shouts came, Zhu Quan, who was reading the military book in the study, frowned slightly.

He looked up at the window and saw Chang Shi walking in a hurry outside the study.

"What's the matter?"

Putting down the military book in his hand, Zhu Quan frowned and asked, and Chang Shi also trotted into the study with an incredible expression on his face.

"The common people of Bohai attacked Daning City in a surprise attack. Daning City has been captured. Chen Heng was captured by his subordinates and brought to the front of the formation. He has been detained by the King of Bohai County under the order."

"What did you say?"

Zhu Quan stood up, with an expression on his face that was as incredible as Chang Shi's.

He has been vassaling Daning for many years, so he naturally knows the situation in Daning. If there are no other problems, it will take at least [-] to [-] thousand people to attack Daning.

"How did he get in?"

Zhu Quan asked, and Chang Shi shook his head: "It was too chaotic outside. I only know that he led his cavalry into the city when the city gate was opened, and then Chen Heng was tied up in front of the battle by his subordinates who rebelled."

"It's so simple..." Zhu Quan sat down. The reason he didn't dare to raise an army was because he was afraid of the power of the imperial court. But he never thought that Zhu Gaoxu could capture Daning so easily.

Although there were [-] guards in the Peiping capital, once Daning was captured, the other guards could not resist and had to surrender. Because the other guards did not have much food, the imperial court would uniformly transport the food to Daning. , and then Daning will allocate them to the following guards according to the needs of a season.

Now that Daning City has been captured, this also means that the [-] guards of Beipingdusi will surrender.

Although Bu Wan in the south and Liu Song in the east had sufficient food and grass, once their soldiers knew that the rear had surrendered, they would collapse without a fight.

"My fourth brother...how many soldiers and horses do we have right now?"

Zhu Quan asked with a complicated expression, and Chang Shi also bowed according to his own information: "About [-] to [-] people."

"Where is Gao Xu?" Zhu Quan asked again, and Chang Shi continued to answer: "About [-] to [-]."

"Ah..." Zhu Quan sighed and closed his eyes: "I'm afraid that after this battle, the number of soldiers and horses under Gao Xu's command will exceed that of my fourth brother."

"Indeed." Chang Shi nodded, and at the same time, rapid footsteps came from outside the study.

Not long after, a commander ran into the study and hurriedly bowed: "Your Highness, the Prince of Bohai County invites you to go to the Commander's Yamen in the capital to reminisce about the past."

The commander was talking about reminiscing about the past, but Zhu Quan knew very well that at this juncture, if he did not give Zhu Gaoxu this face, Zhu Gaoxu would not take into account the previous relationship between uncles and nephews on both sides.

"Let's go, follow me to meet my brave nephew."

Zhu Quan stood up without hesitation, straightened his clothes, and walked out with Chang Shi and the commander...

"Daning City has more than [-] shi of grain, [-] guan of money, [-] jin of iron, [-] shi of beans, and [-] jin of various kinds of cloth. One hundred pieces, more than [-] kilograms of cotton, and in addition..."

In the capital's yamen, Zhu Gaoxu stood in front of a sand table with something similar to a baton in his hand.

Zhao Mu took a thick treasury book and told him what else was in Daning Mansion, and then read again: "Daning has farmland totaling [-] acres, and military households There are [-] households and more than [-] people.”

"The monthly ration is [-] dan, and the daily ration is around [-] dan."

"At present, Yingzhou, Muyu and other guards have [-] combat soldiers and more than [-] garrison troops. Songtingguan and Guangning have each transferred [-] combat soldiers and more than [-] garrison troops to serve as civilians."

Zhao Mu told the general situation of Daning, while Zhu Gaoxu had been observing the sand table of Daning, picked up a flag belonging to Hu Bing, and planted it more than [-] miles north of Daning City.

"Your Highness, according to this document from the Daning Capital Command and Envoy, even if Daning's food is added to the food from other guards, it can only last until the twelfth lunar month at most."

Zhao Mu's eyes were a little worried, and this worry came from Daning's situation.

During the Hongwu period, Daning was a place that swallowed [-] shi of grain every month. Because of this, it, Liaodong, Shaanxi Xingdusi and other places were pure investment places, and the capital did not receive a cent from them. A cent of tax on grain.

Now that Zhu Gaoxu has taken over Daning and Liaodong, he is not taking over a golden bobo, but taking over two burdens from the Jianwen years.

"According to our rules, how long will this Daning food be enough to last?"

Zhu Gaoxu seemed to be looking at the sand table without any distractions, but in fact he was very aware of the predicament he was encountering.

"There are more than [-] people in the Bohai Sea, more than [-] people in Liaodong, and now with the nearly [-] people in Daning, the total is more than [-]. mouth."

"According to our method, each person is given two kilograms of rice per day..."

Zhao Mu was doing his calculations. After all, he had attended Jilin Health School, so arithmetic was not a problem for him.

Not long after, he raised his head and told Zhu Gaoxu: "They have to eat [-] shi every month. If you add Daning's [-] soldiers and our brothers' military pay, it's almost... fifty-three More than [-] stone, plus [-] guan military pay."

"The military pay is okay, and with the money from Liaodong's treasury, it can last at least six months. But for food, our food can only last until the autumn harvest in September."

Zhao Mu looked up at Zhu Gaoxu as he spoke, and Zhu Gaoxu also understood the situation in Daning better from here, and also understood why Zhu Di moved all the more than [-] people in Daning back to Yongping and Shuntian. .

After all, although Zhu Di had plenty of money and food when he captured Daning, Daning still needed to consume more than two million shi every year.

The local farmland of more than [-] acres can solve at most one-tenth of the food problem, and the remaining two million grains have to be taken from the Yanfu treasury.

Not to mention where Zhu Di got the extra two million shi from for Daning, the number of soldiers, horses and civilians needed to transport the money and food alone would stump him.

Now that he is here, he is also facing such a dilemma, and the method he wants to use is similar to the method Zhu Di wants to use.

"Please come, old General Chen Heng."

Zhu Gaoxu raised his head and asked the soldiers in front of the central hall to invite Chen Heng. Not long after, he saw Chen Heng, who was still restrained on the streets of Daning, walking over with a relaxed expression.

Regarding Chen Heng's acting skills, Zhu Gaoxu could no longer look directly at him.

"Your Highness."

Chen Heng bowed to Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaoxu did not hesitate, because he still had to deal with Haragu and ensure the peace of the people of Daning, so he had to ask Chen Heng to help him deal with the remaining [-] guards and three guards of Daning as soon as possible. Imperial Palace.

"I would like to ask the old general to take my people to take over the remaining [-] guards and three stations in Daning immediately. I wonder how many people the old general needs?"

"This..." After hearing Zhu Gaoxu's words, Chen Heng paused: "The three guards of Yingzhou are stationed by my sons Chen Gong, Chen Zhong, and Chen Mao. They can be captured as long as I send three family letters."

"As for Mu Yu and other guards, most of them are my old subordinates and are familiar with His Highness King Yan. As long as it is reported that Daning has been captured, they will all follow His Highness."

"The only two problems are Bu Wan of Songting Pass and Liu Song of Guangning. It is impossible for these two to get along well with His Highness, but many people in their army are my confidants."

"As long as I send you a letter and Your Highness takes their family members to call for battle, they will definitely defect before the battle. Therefore, I don't need His Highness's troops. I only need His Highness to make two trips in person after repelling the Ulliang Hahu Cavalry."

Chen Heng is indeed a man who has been granted the title of Duke. In just a few words from him, the entire Daning has been captured. No wonder in history, after Bu Wan and Liu Zhen were defeated, Chen Heng dared to directly lead people to seek refuge with Zhu Di. Except for Bu Wan and Liu Zhen, most of the others were his old subordinates.

"Okay, with the words of the old general, I feel at ease."

After saying this, Zhu Gaoxu also confidently explained his intentions to Chen Heng.

"Da Ning has been unable to enter and leave for a long time, and it is possible to encounter Hu cavalry invaders at any time. Therefore, after repelling the Hu cavalry, I plan to relocate [-] military households and their families to Liaodong to settle down."

"As for Daning, it is enough to build more stone castles where there were original farms and deploy [-] soldiers and their relatives to garrison them."

Moving the population of Daning into Liaodong is the most important move for Zhu Gaoxu to develop Northeast China.

Now that Daning has been captured, except for the more than [-] troops and horses in the Liaoxi Corridor and Songting Pass, all other places in Zhu Di's rear are safe.

As long as Zhu Gaoxu can deal with the [-] troops of Bu Wan and Liu Song, there will be only more than [-] remaining soldiers in western Liaoning, and they will be defeated in an instant.

In this way, the Bohai Sea and Liaodong became the rear area, and Liaodong was the safest, because the Prince's Rebellion was breaking out in North Korea, and it was unable to have ambitions in Liaodong.

Moving more than [-] people to Liaodong to carry out large-scale land reclamation, and then leaving [-] to [-] people to guard Daning, while cultivating the more than [-] acres of cultivated land previously cultivated, this is Zhu Gaoxu's arrangement for Daning and Liaodong.

Daning must be defended, but Wuliangha has suffered many attacks and can no longer storm the city fortress, so it is completely fine to leave [-] soldiers to garrison and [-] to [-] of their family members to cultivate the fields. The local Expenses will also come down.

After Zhu Gaoxu's operation, Daning's expenses may drop from [-] yuan to [-] yuan per month.

Although the burden on Liaodong has increased, as long as Zhu Di transports grain from the western Liaoning Corridor, Zhu Gaoxu will be sure to capture Deng, Lai and other important cities in Shandong after the construction of sea ships in the coming year, and then go south to Huaibei to seize the water on the canal road. Secondary warehouse.

As long as he successfully grabs a water warehouse, it will be enough to maintain the [-] soldiers and civilians outside the customs for half a year or even a year.

"It would be very difficult to relocate more than [-] people. Besides, can Liaodong support so many people?"

Chen Heng raised his concerns, but Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said: "Don't worry about the food issue. Our army will also distribute solid food to the people of Daning at the cost of two catties for adults and one and a half catties for minors during the migration."

"After arriving in Liaodong, while organizing land reclamation, our army will still distribute rations according to this amount. It will not stop until the people have their own land to cultivate and feed themselves."

"Solid food?" Chen Heng was stunned. He did not expect that Zhu Gaoxu would dare to say such "wild words".

Take the previous situation in Daning as an example. According to Daning's standards, with a monthly expenditure of [-] dan, each military household could receive one stone and three dou, and it was unprocessed rice. Only [-]% of the wheat bran lost during processing can only get one pound or four of solid grain per person.

Nowadays, Zhu Gaoxu only talks about two kilograms for large meals and one and a half kilograms for small meals. Moreover, he does not ask the military households to help the guards farm the land for free, but helps them to open up wasteland for themselves.

Chen Heng didn't know how to describe Zhu Gaoxu for a moment. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a living Bodhisattva.

"If that's the case, I don't think any military household in Daning would refuse."

Chen Heng spoke with determination, and Zhu Gaoxu nodded when he heard the words: "The recruitment of the twenty-one guards will be left to you." "General, take your orders!" Chen Heng bowed in agreement, and at this time, footsteps were heard outside the central hall. .

Not long after, a Qianhu official came to the courtyard and bowed: "Your Highness, His Highness Prince Ning is outside the door."

"I will personally greet Uncle Seventeen." Zhu Gaoxu turned to look at Chen Heng, who also coughed and said, "It's inconvenient for you to show up, so please leave first."

Others don't know what happened about Daning's surrender, but the three of them know very well that if Zhu Quan finds out, and Zhu Quan's heart goes south, then Chen Heng's lame drama will be in vain.

Not long after, Chen Heng left, and Zhu Gaoxu also walked out of the Yamen and met the high-spirited Zhu Quan.

However, compared to the time when the two of them joined forces to pursue Haragu, Zhu Quan now seemed a bit down and out, while Zhu Gaoxu was the hero.

"Uncle Seventeen..."

Zhu Gaoxu walked down the steps enthusiastically and invited Zhu Quan to enter the yamen to discuss matters.

Feeling Zhu Gaoxu's enthusiasm, Zhu Quan felt relieved and asked at the same time: "Gaoxu, how did you capture Daning, and what are you going to do?"

"Go in, Uncle Seventeen and I will talk slowly..."

Zhu Gaoxu took Zhu Quan into the middle hall of the capital commander's office and sat down. Then he told the story of his collusion with Chen Heng and Zhao Mu, and at the end he told the story of his arrangements for Daning.

Hearing these words made Zhao Mu nervous, but Zhu Gaoxu knew very well that Zhu Quan's control over Daning was limited to his three guards. As for the later saying that King Ning had [-] armor, it was actually just an exaggeration. Historically, after Chen Heng surrendered, Zhu Quan was coerced into following Zhu Di with little resistance.

Zhu Di did not say anything to Zhu Quan about sharing the world. Even if he did, considering the historical situation that all Daning troops surrendered and Zhu Quan only had a few thousand guards, it would be strange that Zhu Quan dared to agree.

Rather than saying that Zhu Quan took the initiative to hand over military power, it is better to say that Zhu Quan was coerced by Chen Heng to hand over military power.

In order to show his loyalty, Zhu Quan also persuaded Zhu Di to ascend the throne in Peiping after Zhu Di defeated Li Jinglong.

Of course, Zhu Gaoxu has forgotten the specific historical circumstances, but he roughly remembers such a thing anyway.

"If Gao Xu has to abandon Daning, has he forgotten Huang Kao's legacy?"

After hearing that Zhu Gaoxu wanted to move more than [-]% of Daning's population to Liaodong, Zhu Quan immediately asked him.

What he said was that Zhu Yuanzhang had the idea of ​​taking over the ground in Wuliangha after receiving the map of Northeast China sent by Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu naturally did not dare to forget this idea, because he wanted to control the Wuliangha grassland more than Zhu Yuanzhang, and even went to Mobei through Wuliangha, and followed the Onan River all the way to Hulanhu hypothermia!

"Of course I haven't forgotten!" Zhu Gaoxu replied in a deep voice: "It is precisely because I have not forgotten that I want to immigrate to the border and enrich the population of Liaodong."

"Is it possible that Uncle Seventeen has forgotten how I fought from Jilin to Wulianghatu Mountain?"

Instead, Zhu Gaoxu reminded Zhu Quan, and when he heard this, he also understood Zhu Gaoxu's thoughts, so he couldn't help but smile: "You are planning to colonize Liaodong, and then make Liaodong self-sufficient in the future, and finally transport grain to Zhaozhou, and take the waterway directly north to Wu. Liangha?"

"Of course!" Zhu Gaoxu didn't need to hide his ambitions for Modong from Zhu Quan, because Zhu Quan knew the routes and circumstances of his several expeditions to Modong.

“Right now, the four cities in Bohai are self-sufficient.”

"Starting from next year, Bohai will be able to pay more than [-] shi of tax grains to the treasury every year. If these more than [-] shi of tax grains are transported to Wulianghatu City or even Wulianghatu Mountain, they can sustain several A settlement of ten thousand people.”

"As long as this continues for a few years, the local area will be developed and gradually become self-sufficient, and the taxes and grains in the Bohai Sea will continue to increase until it can support tens of thousands of troops marching westward."

"You don't need to tell your nephew about the truth behind this, right?" Zhu Gaoxu told Zhu Quan what he thought.

Zhu Quan was not a fool. He asked carefully: "What do you want me to do?"

"I want Uncle Seventeen to continue to be in charge of Daning and control these fifteen thousand troops." Zhu Gaoxu said bluntly, but Zhu Quan was very surprised: "Aren't you afraid that I will lead my troops to the south?"

"Going to the south and being reduced to a commoner?" Zhu Gaoxu asked Zhu Quan, and then the uncle and nephew smiled helplessly.

Zhu Quan was different from Zhu Zhi and Zhu Sui. He was not as familiar with Zhu Yunwen as Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Yunwen. He handed over military power and went to the south. What else could he do without being cut off from the vassal state?

"If you are willing, then I will guard Liaodong for you."

Zhu Quan deliberately emphasized the word "for you", which made Zhu Gaoxu smile.

"In this case, please ask Uncle Seventeen to temporarily command his three thousand people, and wait until my nephew takes care of Haragu, and then implement the affairs of Daning."

Zhu Gaoxu stood up to explain, but Zhu Quan shook his head: "This Haragu, you and I didn't hunt him last time, so we can hunt him down this time."

"There are still three hundred cavalry left among the three thousand guards of my Ning Mansion. If you don't mind, I will personally go into battle and lead them to attack that Hu cavalry with you."

Zhu Quan expressed his loyalty, and Zhu Gaoxu did not refuse: "Okay, in that case, I will ask Uncle Seventeen to lead the troops out of the North City Gate at noon. I will wait for you there."

"Okay!" Zhu Quan bowed, then turned and left.

Watching him leave, Zhao Mu stepped forward and said cautiously: "Your Highness, are you not afraid that Prince Ning will occupy Daning?"

"What can he do by occupying Daning? What can he do with the [-] to [-] people after the move?" Zhu Gaoxu asked Zhao Mu.

It's not that he looked down on Zhu Quan, but that Zhu Quan was only good at leading troops and could not control large-scale troops.

This is not surprising. After all, Zhu Quan is only two years older than Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaoxu was a man more prone to introspection in his two lives. On the contrary, Zhu Quan still has the impatience of young people.

"This is also..."

Zhao Mu nodded, but Zhu Gaoxu patted him on the shoulder: "Since Uncle Seventeen has brought [-] people, I will leave [-] people for you. You cooperate with General Chen to capture the remaining [-] guards of Daning for me. "

"Yes!" Zhao Mu bowed subconsciously. Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu also turned and left, preparing to go north to fight with the army.

But when he turned to leave, Zhu Quan also walked out of the capital commander's office with Shi Weiquan, the chief of the palace.

Not long after they returned to Prince Ning's Mansion, and seeing that everything was safe, Wei Quan said, "Why do you want to rely on King Bohai? With your seniority, shouldn't you rely on King Yan?"

When Zhu Quan, who was putting on his armor, heard this, he shook his head and asked Wei Quan: "Right now, my fourth brother or Gao Xu, which one of them has more troops?"

"Of course it's the King of Bohai County." Wei Quan replied subconsciously, and Zhu Quan continued to ask: "Then who has more people under their rule?"

"He is also the King of Bohai County." Wei Quan understood what Zhu Quan wanted to say.

"Yes..." Zhu Quan put on his armor under the service of the maids, and said at the same time:

"Right now, my fourth brother has Gao Xu, and Gao Xu has nearly [-] soldiers and horses, and nearly a million people. Liaodong, Daning, and Bohai have no external enemies except Haragu, who can leap over the bridge."

"I looked at the golden book in front of me and found that Wanyan Agu, who raised an army from the same place as Gao Xu, could not defeat hundreds of thousands, so he dared to defeat the Liao Kingdom. And now my nephew who has lost Liaodong and Yanyun, you see What does he look like?"

"This..." Wei Quan didn't dare to say it, but Zhu Quan didn't hold back: "Except for Yunnan, Sanxuan Liuwei, Shaanxi Xingdusi and Uzangdusi, do you think the south looks like the Northern Song Dynasty?"

"Then Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi was not able to control the Liao Kingdom. Can he compare to Song Taizong?"

Zhu Quan asked repeatedly, but Wei Quan said: "Although the King of Bohai County has strong soldiers and horses, King Yan is his father after all, and it is impossible for him to rebel against his father. And the throne of the heir apparent has been determined by Emperor Gao. You..."

As Wei Quan was talking, he suddenly realized that he understood Zhu Quan's intention.

He slowly looked at Zhu Quan, who was wearing armor, and said cautiously: "You mean, this is a timely help?"

"Not really." Zhu Quan looked at the armor he had put on, waved his hand to the maid to step back, and while he sat down on the main seat, he also asked Wei Quan to sit down.

After the two sat down, Zhu Quan said: "I am more like the icing on the cake now, but it is also the icing on the cake. For Fourth Brother and for Gao Xu are two different things."

"Fourth brother is now forty years old, while Gao Xu is only twenty, and I am only twenty-two."

"I'm not familiar with Gao Chi, and I don't think Gao Chi can deal with Gao Xu."

Zhu Quan picked up the tea and took a sip: "Do you think, in this case, should I choose Gao Chi or Gao Xu?"

"Of course he is the King of Bohai County." Wei Quan did not hesitate, and Zhu Quan nodded: "If you choose the fourth brother, you will only be rich for ten or twenty years, but if you choose Gao Xu, you will be rich for a lifetime."

"Besides, if I choose the fourth brother, then the fourth brother will be wavering between Gao Chi and Gao Xu. I will have to choose again. If I choose the wrong one, I will be hated by Prince Yan and Gao Xu."

"In this case, it is better to take advantage of Prince Yan's lack of momentum and throw himself at Gao Xu first, even if Gao Xu is defeated in the future..."

As he spoke, Zhu Quan suddenly smiled and shook his head. Obviously he did not think Zhu Gaoxu would fail.

As far as Zhu Gaochi's current power is concerned, let alone Zhu Gaochi himself, even if Zhu Di personally steps in to help Zhu Gaochi deflect, he may not be able to win over Zhu Gaochi.

Judging from the performance of the generals of the Yan Mansion during the last Northern Expedition, Zhu Quan knew that their relationship with Zhu Gaoxu was not bad.

Without the support of military generals, what could Zhu Gaochi rely on to compete with Zhu Gaoxu?

Thinking of this, Zhu Quan didn't know what he thought of, and suddenly narrowed his eyes:

"The current situation looks very much like a certain family. Do you know whose family it is?"

"Li..." Wei Quan just wanted to say it, but subconsciously closed his mouth, obviously not daring to say those words.

Zhu Quan, on the other hand, didn't have so many taboos. After Wei Quan opened his mouth, he followed suit and said, "The current situation is similar to the situation at the beginning of the founding of Li Tang."

He lowered his head, glanced at the half-drunk tea, and murmured: "I hope Fourth Brother won't be confused..."

　"Bohai Chronicles": "Renyin was included in the city. However, Hu soldiers went south and said to Ning Wangquan: "The people here are in danger, and my uncle and nephew should fight against foreign enemies together." Ning Wangquan heard the words and followed him, so he went with Ning Wangquan. Take the lead and ride north."

　　"Records of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty": "Renyin went up to Daning. King Ning Quan heard about it and came to surrender. When the Hu soldiers went south, he took his troops and horses to the north and chased the Hu cavalry away."

　　

　

(End of this chapter)