Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 96 Gangye Sun takes the blame

"Boom...boom...boom..."

At dusk, with the sound of dusk drums, Zhu Gaoxu also arrived at the Song Dynasty Duke's Mansion, and skillfully dismounted from his horse and handed Chi Huan to the care of his brothers from other hundreds of households in Yulin Zuowei.

He walked into the Duke of Song's Mansion without any hindrance. Just as Zhu Yuanzhang said, although Duke Ying's Mansion did not allow him to enter, the door of the Duke of Song's Mansion was still open for him.

I just don’t know how long this kind of openness can last...

Not knowing what mood he was in, he walked up the steps step by step and walked into the courtyard.

Perhaps seeing something wrong with Zhu Gaoxu, the manager of the Feng Mansion who usually talked to him just bowed from a distance and then walked quickly into the backyard.

Not long after, when Zhu Gaoxu just entered the main hall, Feng Sheng and the steward of Feng Mansion walked into the main hall through the ear door one after another, obviously always concerned about Fu Youde's current situation.

It's a pity that when he saw Zhu Gaoxu's appearance, he sighed knowingly.

"Duke..."

When Zhu Gaoxu saw Feng Sheng walking out, he stood up and bowed, and then told many things about his stay in Yingguo Palace and Wuying Palace today.

At first Feng Sheng could still bear his temper, but when he heard that Zhu Gaoxu was confronting Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen in Wuying Hall, even he, a man who had been fighting for his whole life, couldn't help but sweat for Zhu Gaoxu.

But when he heard that Zhu Gaoxu mentioned the national strength and ambition of Timur's empire, he still thought about it as the Duke of Song Dynasty in the Ming Dynasty.

After a long time, Zhu Gaoxu finished talking about his experience of the day. Even when he thought about it, he couldn't help but admire his own boldness.

But after he finished speaking, he still turned his attention to Feng Sheng, but Feng Sheng also looked at him with a puzzled face: "Where did you get this information?"

"I..." Zhu Gaoxu repeated the explanation according to the excuse given by Wuying Palace.

"If you go by what you said, Timur is indeed a hero, and he can indeed threaten our Ming Dynasty, but..."

Feng Sheng chuckled and shook his head: "I once chatted with the Beilu from Kansai about things in the river, so I probably know everything."

"Then if Timur really wants to invade our country, the Ming Dynasty, with his national strength, I am afraid that he will encounter the Gobi River in the middle of February."

"Even if we cross this Gobi, I am afraid that with our national strength, we can only maintain [-] to [-] soldiers and horses, and it will be unsustainable."

"If you still want to continue, you must ask Beslopali to collect food for them. It will take another three months to reach Turpan and Hami."

"These 7 people eat horse chews. I'm afraid they will consume no less than one million dan in three months of food. It is still a question whether Bie Shi Bali can supply it."

"Even if Beishebali can supply it, I'm afraid it will be difficult to maintain it for a long time. And our army, which is waiting for work, is bound to attack it head-on."

Feng Sheng has been to the Hexi Corridor and Dunhuang area in this era, so he naturally understands the climate and environment in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty in this era.

Since the Ming Dynasty, the environment in the northwest has been deteriorating. Even during the Shunzhi, Kangxi, and Yongzheng years, the environment in the northwest was deteriorating.

It is particularly difficult to fight from Hexi to the Western Regions, and it is even more difficult to cross the Western Regions from the river to attack Hexi.

More importantly, even if Timur wanted to attack the Ming Dynasty, Hami, as the bridgehead, would not be able to support his army.

Today, there are only 3 to 20 people in Hami, and only less than [-] people are included in Turpan.

Even if Turpan and Hami all turned to Timur, with a population of less than 20, it would not be enough to eat them all.

In comparison, the entire Shaanxi Xingdu Division west of the Yellow River is a large military camp. This military camp has two key points, one is Suzhou Guard and the other is Ganzhou Guard, similar to Shenyang and Guangning in Liaodong.

On the Ganzhou and Suzhou lines, there is the entire Shaanxi Xingdu Division military belt. From east to west, there are more than a dozen military belts such as Zhuanglang, Liangzhou, Zhenfan, Yongchang, Shandan, Ganzhou, Gaotai, Suzhou, etc. The additional garrison troops and visiting troops in autumn were added.

In addition, Ming Dynasty also has Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Sichuan as second-line support, and the number of combatable troops that can be gathered at the first time will not be less than [-].

Therefore, even if Timur's eastern expedition reaches Hami, I am afraid that the entire northwest army will assemble under the name of King Qin and King Su, and more than [-] soldiers and horses from Shaanxi Xingdusi and Shaanxi Dusi will rush to Suzhou City.

In fact, even Zhu Gaoxu himself knew that Timur could not become a serious concern of the Ming Dynasty at all, because the environment of the Western Region in this era was simply not suitable for large armies to move freely. Even taking the Eurasian grassland in the north was more feasible than this route. Several times higher.

It's just that only those who have participated in the Northwest War can understand such things, and although Lao Zhu knows a little about it, he doesn't know much after all.

However, Zhu Gaoxu didn't want to scare Lao Zhu out with Timur at all, he just tried to test Lao Zhu's mind.

Now it seems that Lao Zhu does not want to kill Feng Sheng and Fu Youde, and his words today have planted a thorn in Lao Zhu's heart. No matter whether Timur's empire has the strength he said, Lao Zhu will send people Go find out.

"You..." Feng Sheng looked at Zhu Gaoxu with a complicated expression. It was obvious that he also knew what Zhu Gaoxu was thinking.

In other words, not only him, but also Lao Zhu also knew Zhu Gaoxu's thoughts.

But even if they all knew it, they would still send people to the Hezhong area to investigate the truth as Zhu Gaoxu thought.

Lao Zhu wouldn't mind killing someone a few months later, but Feng Sheng and the others could be thankful to live a few more months.

But if these words are exposed, Zhu Gaoxu's status in Lao Zhu's heart may plummet.

Zhu Gaoxu is using his future to delay time...

"If Timur is far from what you said, you may be out of favor in an instant."

Feng Sheng expressed his thoughts, but these were only his thoughts. Zhu Gaoxu knew the history, so what he said to Zhu Yuanzhang was consistent.

However, looking at Feng Sheng's current appearance, Zhu Gaoxu did not waste this opportunity and pretended to laugh at himself:

"No matter how old I am in the future, I will only be a county king."

"Isn't it worth trading the position of a county king for two of them to live longer?"

"Besides, I'm not worried about this being exposed because it's true."

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes were firm, and Feng Sheng, who was looking at him, couldn't help but doubt the authenticity of the matter.

"Is it possible that there really is a madman in the west?" Feng Sheng couldn't help but wonder, but he threw this idea out of his mind the next second.

Regardless of whether a madman really appeared in the west, his and Fu Youde's lives were saved until the matter was discovered.

"This time, I want to thank you very much..." Feng Sheng stood up and slowly bowed to Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu accepted the gift, but after Feng Sheng stood up, he bowed and returned the gift: "The two princes taught me the art of war. Although they did not have the title of master and apprentice, they were actually master and apprentice. This is what I should do." of."

"Besides, even if I do this, the specific result still depends on the pressure from grandpa."

There was something in his words, and Feng Sheng also heard it.

After all, even if Zhu Gaoxu's words are true, the Ming Dynasty does not need two princes to defend against one enemy.

As long as Zhu Yuanzhang has murderous intentions, he can choose one of Fu Youde and Feng Sheng to die.

Whether he will do this depends on whether he wants to kill two people or whether he has to kill two people.

Feng Sheng knew this truth, but he couldn't guess Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts.

But judging from Zhu Gaoxu's hints, Zhu Yuanzhang belongs to the latter. From the bottom of his heart, he does not want to kill Feng Sheng and Fu Youde, just like Li Shanchang back then.

After the Hu Weiyong case broke out in the 13th year of Hongwu, many people were implicated and executed. Li Shanchang has been involved in this matter, but in the end he was not affected at all.

This is not because Li Shanchang cleaned up his tail, but because Zhu Yuanzhang did not pursue him.

Even though many supervisory censors at that time impeached Li Shanchang, Zhu Yuanzhang responded with "Don't implicate the old master" and saved Li Shanchang.

However, the supervisory censors did not give up. In the 18th year of Hongwu, some people still reported that Li Shanchang's younger brother Li Cunyi and his son were Hu Weiyong's party members.

Only this time, Zhu Yuanzhang pardoned the death penalty of Li Cunyi and his son, and did not pursue Li Cunyi and Li Shanchang.

It was not until the 23rd year of Hongwu, ten years after the Hu Weiyong case, that because Li Shanchang's nephew Ding Bin committed other crimes, Ding Bin confessed the past events of Hu Weiyong wooing Li Shanchang, which triggered the liquidation and execution of Li Shanchang's family.

From the 13th year of Hongwu to the 23rd year of Hongwu, for ten years after the Hu Weiyong case occurred, Zhu Yuanzhang did not touch Li Shanchang. Even his younger brother Li Cunyi was accused of being a member of Hu Weiyong's party and was spared from death by Zhu Yuanzhang.

No matter how you look at it, Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely benevolent to Li Shanchang. After all, he had been carrying the pressure of the court for Li Shanchang for the past ten years.

If Ding Bin hadn't confessed, I'm afraid Zhu Yuanzhang would still be able to bear the pressure and let Li Shan live out his old age in peace.

Therefore, as long as Zhu Yuanzhang does not want him to die, it will be difficult for this person to die.

Zhu Gaoxu believed that Zhu Yuanzhang did not want Fu Youde and Feng Sheng to die, so they could survive.

As for how long they can survive, it depends on how long Zhu Yuanzhang can bear the pressure for them.

Thinking of this, Feng Sheng was silent for a long time. He did not expect that he had been following Zhu Yuanzhang for so many years but could not see through him. Zhu Gaoxu had already touched the edge of his character when he was only 15 years old.

"I know..." Feng Sheng, who heard what he was saying, understood Zhu Gaoxu's hint. When Zhu Gaoxu saw this, he also stood up: "It's getting late, so I won't be here for a long time."

"Okay" Feng Sheng nodded in agreement and turned to look at the man in charge: "Send His Highness out for me."

"Yes!" The joy on the steward's face could not be concealed. Even though he did not understand the content of the conversation between the two, he understood that his master had been worry-free recently, so he naturally greeted Zhu Gaoxu with a smile.

He escorted Zhu Gaoxu out of the Duke's Mansion, while Feng Sheng looked at Zhu Gaoxu's back with mixed emotions in his eyes.

Under Zhu Gaoxu's explanation, he became even more elusive about that person's character.

He didn't want to let himself die, but he had to let himself die.

"Old Master, you must have been as miserable as I am now..."

With a long sigh, Feng Sheng turned around and walked back to the backyard. A moment later, Zhu Gaoxu also walked out of the Duke's Mansion, rode on Chi Huan and rushed home.

While he was rushing home, the Wuying Hall also began to disperse with the beating of dusk drums.

Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Jixi, and Zhu Shangbing left one after another, and in the end only Zhu Yuanzhang's grandson was left, who was about to walk out of the palace.

Arriving at the entrance of Wuying Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen got on the two carriages at the door.

Accompanied by the eunuchs singing "Get up", Bu Yu began to move with the eunuchs lifting him on their shoulders.Sitting on the carriage, Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his eyes and was thinking about something, while Zhu Yunwen looked at his nose and heart, but in fact his attention was focused on Zhu Yuanzhang.

Today, Zhu Gaoxu ruined his plan. Although he was a little angry, he was more worried.

Of course, compared to this worry, he was more worried about what his grandpa Huang thought of this matter.

After walking for a mile, Zhu Yunwen still didn't see Zhu Yuanzhang speak, so he couldn't help but said:

"Grandpa, even if the Xilu want to invade my Ming Dynasty, they must first pass the gate of Bei Shi Bali."

"My grandson thinks that as long as he arranges businessmen in Beslopali and collects information secretly, he will not cause any trouble in Xilu."

"What's more, Shaanxi Xingdusi and Shaanxi Dusi have more than 30 troops. Even if the northern captives raise [-] people to knock on the side, I am afraid they will not be able to defeat our northwest elite in an instant."

"As long as time can be delayed, the first wave of reinforcements from Sichuan, Henan, and Shanxi will be launched in a mighty manner to put down this bandit!"

There was nothing wrong with Zhu Yunwen's idea, or even the steps. It was just that after he finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang did not respond to him immediately, but continued to remain silent.

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang like this, Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, and could only hide it by guessing what the other person was thinking.

"I'm not worried about this."

Before Zhu Yunwen could guess what Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking, Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted his thoughts.

Zhu Yunwen looked at Zhu Yuanzhang subconsciously, but his eyes collided with Zhu Yuanzhang's, and he subconsciously shifted his gaze.

Looking at Zhu Yunwen's actions, Zhu Yuanzhang did not say anything, but said to Zhu Yunwen:

"Until we get to the bottom of this Xilu matter, we will put aside the matters involving Duke Ying and Duke Song for the time being, and focus on the matter of 'Su Song's Second Mansion using banknotes to offset taxes'."

"..." After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, the smile on Zhu Yunwen's face froze for a moment, but he quickly reacted and said with a smile:

"The two princes and distinguished nobles have made great contributions and should enjoy their remaining years..."

"As for Su Song's second house to use banknotes to offset taxes, my grandson has already started making arrangements."

Zhu Yunwen answered with a smile, not only agreeing to put aside the matter of Fu Youde and Feng Sheng, but even mentioned other Xunhou.

The "others" here refer to Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi, Yongping Marquis Xie Cheng and others who were related to the vassal kings.

The reason why he was so open-minded was naturally not because he was suddenly open-minded, but because Su Song's second mansion was too tempting to use cash to offset taxes.

Once this matter is done, the resentment accumulated by the squires and wealthy households in Susong and Songfu since the first year of Hongwu will be dispelled, and the gratitude after the dissipation of resentment will fall on Zhu Yunwen.

If Su Song's second mansion, a wealthy country gentry who accounts for one-tenth of the world's tax revenue, supports him, then Zhu Yunwen will be confident about facing Zhu Fan.

What's more, the government's use of banknotes to offset taxes is just the beginning. What he really wants is the support of Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Beijing.

These three provinces accounted for three-quarters of the Ming Dynasty's population and three-fifths of its tax revenue.

As long as he has the support of the wealthy gentry and wealthy households in the three provinces of Beijing, not to mention Zhu Fan, he is confident that he can solve the problem even if the four major vassals are dissatisfied at the same time.

Therefore, the lives and deaths of Fu Youde and others are no longer that important to him.

As for why he has this confidence, he has to thank Zhu Gaoxu...

"There is news from Yunnan. Five more gold and silver mines and two copper mines have been discovered in Yongchang, Dali, Yuanjiang, and Lin'an Prefecture. Do you know about this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice suddenly sounded, and facing this information, Zhu Yunwen seemed to have already known it, and bowed calmly: "My grandson already knows."

"Hmm..." Lao Zhu responded, and then explained: "There are many barbarians in these places, but few Han people..."

"You will go to the morning court on my behalf tomorrow and discuss with the officials how to do it."

Lao Zhu did not say it clearly, but Zhu Yunwen was not stupid. On the contrary, he was very good at guessing his thoughts. He did not need Zhu Yuanzhang to remind him, but he could draw inferences from one example:

"Sun'er believes that households can be moved from Jiangxi, Nanzhili and other places to Yunnan, and be classified as military households to guard the border for the imperial court. At the same time, local minerals can be mined to enrich the money market in Liangjiang."

"In addition, Sun'er believes that we should order Xiping Hou Muchun and the Governor Qian Shi He Fuhong to prepare troops. After the autumn harvest, they will send troops to eliminate the chieftains in the four prefectures who are not convinced by the king, so as to stabilize the people's livelihood in the border areas."

After all, Zhu Yunwen has been in power for more than two years. He knows very well that the current environment in Yunnan is not suitable for mining gold and silver mines in northwest, southeast, and southern Yunnan.

Today, the only gathering places for Han people are Dali and Kunming. The rest of the places are mostly chieftains, which have been passed down for thousands of years.

They have their own writing and language, and they sometimes rebel against the rule of the Ming Dynasty. If they are not cleaned up, once the news of these gold and silver mines is spread, I am afraid they will be blinded by interests.

The gold, silver and copper mines in Yunnan are all part of Zhu Yunwen's future plans and must not be threatened by some southwestern barbarians.

Zhu Yunwen rarely showed his ruthless side. Even if he restrained himself in time, Zhu Yuanzhang could see clearly.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not take this seriously. After all, if Ming Dynasty wanted to stabilize the southwest, it could only eliminate the disobedient chieftains.

Before, he thought his grandson was too weak, but now it seems that his grandson still has a bit of ruthlessness. He just hopes that he will not leave this ruthlessness to his own people.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but think of Zhu Gaoxu's back, as well as Zhu Gaoxu's resolute appearance when he confronted him today.

As a grandfather, he liked Zhu Gaoxu's perseverance and courage very much, but as an emperor, he disliked Zhu Gaoxu's current style.

If he had been here, he would not worry that Zhu Gaoxu would be hated by others in the future, but he was old after all.

If my grandson's temper and style are not suppressed to a certain extent, I'm afraid no one will be able to suppress them in the future...

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath, looked at the palace road in front, and said cruelly: "What Zixu, the second-in-command of Yan Mansion, did today was out of etiquette. Please send someone to take away the signs he used to walk in the palace. In addition, it is strictly prohibited." He went in and out of the residences of Duke Ying and Duke Song."

The news came suddenly, and Zhu Yunwen, who was still planning Yunnan, was stunned for a moment.

If Zhu Yuanzhang had said this a few months ago, he would have responded with joy, but now he needs Zhu Gaoxu to see Shandian Mine for him, so he naturally has to speak for him.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen showed hesitation on his face. He bowed carefully, lowered his head and said:

"Grandpa, Gao Xu is only fifteen this year. Some young people have natural minds. Why do you need to be the same as him..."

"What's more, you told him to go to the Duke of Song Dynasty today to study the art of war. If he goes back on his promise, I'm afraid it will damage your majesty."

"In my grandson's opinion, it's better to spare him this time and just give him a verbal reprimand."

Zhu Yunwen knew in his heart Lao Zhu's love for Zhu Gaoxu, so in his opinion, these words should be able to impress him.

But I never thought that after he said these words, Lao Zhu's face did not show any waves, but responded calmly:

"If he dares to confront me today, will he dare to be rude to you tomorrow?"

"I have made up my mind, just do it as it is. If he is dissatisfied, ask him to go back to the north and be his king. The south cannot tolerate his temper."

His words were heartless, at least on the surface.

Even though Zhu Yunwen has been with Zhu Yuanzhang for more than ten years, he still can't stop his heart pounding. With thousands of words on his lips, he can only say one thing: "Yes, my grandson will arrange for someone to do it."

After saying these words, Zhu Yunwen immediately asked an East Palace eunuch to take care of the matter.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen looked at the eunuch's leaving figure at the same time. They were both happy and a little sad in their hearts.

He was happy that Zhu Di had such a good son, but he was also sad that Zhu Gaoxu could not be with him these days.

Zhu Yunwen was happy that he could finally suppress Zhu Gaoxu, but he was sad that Zhu Gaoxu would return to the north in anger, causing him to lose his ability to see the mountain point mine.

Grandfather and grandson each had their own concerns, but these concerns were taken away by the footsteps of the eunuch of the East Palace, and gradually drifted away.

Half an hour later, when the eunuch of the East Palace arrived at the front guard square of the Fujun with his decree, Zhu Gaoxu had just unloaded Chi Huan's saddle and took a cold bath.

He opened the door when he heard the knock on the door. He stopped breathing when he saw the eunuch of the East Palace and the two leopard guards in front of the palace. However, his experience in two lives still made him reluctantly bow: "Zixu, the second son of Yan, I have seen him before." Father-in-law, I don’t know what’s wrong.”

The sound of dusk drums has stopped. Unless there is a big event, the eunuchs of the inner and outer courts are not allowed to leave the palace. This is also the reason why Zhu Gaoxu is nervous. After all, what he did today is indeed a bit excessive.

"Your Highness..." The eunuch of the East Palace bowed in return and said, "This slave has brought His Majesty's oral instructions. From today onwards, His Highness's palace badge will be taken back and no one will be allowed to enter or leave the palaces of Duke Song and Duke Ying."

"In addition, His Majesty also said that if you feel unconvinced, you can return to Peiping and wait for the title of Duke. In the future, you will not be allowed to return south without an edict."

The eunuch of the East Palace said it very tactfully. After all, in his opinion, Zhu Gaoxu was a high-spirited person. If he followed the emperor's original words, I am afraid that the Second Highness would leave tomorrow.

In fact, the eunuch of the East Palace guessed correctly. If Zhu Gaoxu had heard this yesterday, he would have returned to the north immediately to prepare for Zhu Yunwen's reduction of the vassal in the future.

But just one day later, the lives of Fu Youde and Feng Sheng were on his shoulders.

If he left without caring about anything, not to mention what would happen to Fu Youde and Feng Sheng, it would be difficult for him to gain the power of Ying Guo Gongfu and Song Guo Gongfu alone.

Lao Zhu probably grasped this point in him and dared to openly send someone to give him oral instructions.

"My grandpa is really good at manipulating people..."

Zhu Gaoxu had no choice but to laugh at himself. Even though his knowledge was hundreds of years ahead of the people of this era, in some things, he was still the clerk from [-].

"My lord, I will obey your instructions..."

In the end, Zhu Gaoxu bowed and agreed to the oral order, and he did not show any intention of quickly escaping from Nanjing.

Such a change made the eunuch of the East Palace and the two leopard guards in front of the palace a little stunned.

"Then... this slave will retire..."

After hesitating for a moment, the eunuch of the East Palace who had observed a little more bowed in return, and then turned around and left with the two leopard guards in front of the palace.

Looking at his back, Zhu Gaoxu felt mixed emotions in his heart. He didn't know whether he had done the right thing this time, but since the matter had been done, there was only one way for him to end up...

(End of this chapter)