Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 135: Candidate for the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Expedition

The second day of September.

evening.

The side hall of Chunhe Hall.

"Your Highness, it's hard for a clever woman to make a living without rice. The treasury is empty, and I really can't come up with any money!"

Yu Xin bowed to Zhu Gaoxu and said with a grimace.

Zhu Gaoxu did not answer, but looked around at the household officials in the side hall. His eyes focused on the faces of Xia Yuanji and Zhuo Jing and paused for a while.

Xia Yuanji understood this, stood up and bowed, saying: "I suggest that your Highness petition you to allocate funds from internal funds to replenish the needs of the national treasury."

"Your Highness, no!"

Zhuo Jing immediately stood up and added: "Last September, His Majesty sent troops to the Timurid Kingdom. The military supplies were all financed from internal funds. By the time the war lasted until the end of June this year, millions of silver taels had been spent. At this time, if Asking Your Majesty to allocate funds from internal funds will definitely cause His Majesty’s dissatisfaction.”

"This doesn't work, that doesn't work, what do you say?"

Xia Yuanji spread his hands, turned to look at Zhuo Jing, and asked.

Zhuo Jing cupped his fists towards Zhu Gaoxu and said, "Your Highness, I have a way to solve this dilemma."

"Zhuo Qing, please give me a try."

Zhu Gaoxu stretched out his hand to signal Zhuo Jing and Xia Yuanji to take their seats, and then said to Zhuo Jing.

Zhuo Jing sat down and said, "Your Highness, there are a large amount of silver coins and gold banknotes stored in the Royal Bank. Why not embezzle part of it and make up for it when the national treasury has money in the future?"

"Absolutely not!"

Yu Xin, the Minister of Household Affairs, immediately retorted.

He didn't care too much, stood up again, cupped his hands to Zhu Gaoxu who was sitting on the throne and said: "Your Highness, the money in the bank is deposited by the depositors. If a natural disaster occurs, the people will still need this money to tide over the disaster. It must not be taken away unless life and death are at stake. This deposit.”

"It's just an expedient measure, it's not like borrowing money and never paying it back." Zhuo Jing explained.

Zhu Gaoxu raised his hand to signal Yu Xin to take a seat, and then said: "Don't be anxious, Mr. Yu. I will definitely not do what you said. But Zhuo Qing used the word 'borrow' well."

When everyone was puzzled, he continued: "Since the people can borrow money from the Royal Bank, why can't the imperial court borrow money from the people?"

"Is this possible?" An official from the Department of Public Affairs of the Ministry of Household Affairs exclaimed in a low voice.

Another official whispered: "Why not?"

"Wouldn't it undermine the dignity of the imperial court to borrow money from the common people?" an official asked softly.

"Then what do you think we should do?" Another official asked helplessly.

Zhu Gaoxu listened to the noisy discussion in the hall, raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and then said: "I am the head of the Hubu Bank and have the right to decide the scope of the Hubu Bank's affairs. Therefore, it is not nonsense to borrow money from the people in the name of the court. , maybe give it a try.”

Just when Yu Xin was about to raise objections, Zhu Gaoxu continued: "Some people may think that this move will damage the majesty of the imperial court, but if you borrow something and return it, like erecting a tree on the gate, doesn't it establish the credibility of the imperial court?"

"Your Highness is brilliant!" Zhuo Jing said sincerely.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I intend for the Household Bank to issue 'national bonds', referred to as 'national bonds', to the people under the jurisdiction of Zhili."

Afterwards, he explained the concept of "national debt" to everyone.

"Your Highness, I think it's feasible." Zhuo Jing stood up and expressed his stance.

"I second the proposal." Some officials expressed support.

"I second the proposal." Immediately afterwards, some officials stood up one after another and expressed their support for the issuance of national bonds.

Yu Xin, the Minister of Household Affairs, was hesitant, but there was really no good way at the moment, so he did not raise any objections.

Xia Yuanji followed Yu Xin's example and learned everything from Yu Xin, so he also chose silence.

"That being the case, the issue of national bonds has been decided. I will report this matter to His Majesty Father tomorrow morning."

Zhu Gaoxu made the final summary of the meeting.

The next day.

early morning.

"It is said that Qiu Fu and other meritorious soldiers will be honored by the imperial court!"

The officials of the etiquette department in the hall sang and shouted loudly.

In September of the second year of Yongle, Zhu Di sent Qiu Fu, commander of the imperial army, to lead [-] light-armored cavalry and [-] divine machine soldiers. They entered the Western Regions through the Hexi Corridor and joined forces with [-] cavalrymen who had not lost eight miles. He went straight to Timur's country and vowed to welcome Fu An back.

At that time, Timur was on his western expedition and was fighting fiercely with the Ottomans. Naturally, he had no time to look east, so the cavalry led by Qiu Fu drove all the way and attacked the capital city of Samarkand.

Fortunately, Timur returned his troops in time and defended the city of Samarkand, otherwise the capital would probably have been breached by divine soldiers equipped with flintlocks and black powder explosive packs.

In line with the principle of supporting war with war, Qiu Fu captured many cattle, sheep and prisoners from the territory of Timur's kingdom, and killed sheep and cattle outside the city of Samarkand, which made Timur, who was in his 60s, half angry to death.

Faced with the power of the Ming Dynasty's flintlock rifles and explosive packets, Timur considered that the purpose of the Ming army's coming was to bring back Fu An, who was detained by him. For the sake of the overall situation, he ordered the release of Fu An and wrote A document of apology was sent, and an envoy was sent to carry tribute and follow the Ming army to Beijing to pay tribute, expressing his willingness to reconcile with the Ming Dynasty.

The highlight of today's morning meeting was to reward Qiu Fu and other meritorious soldiers who returned victoriously from the expedition to the Timur Kingdom.

After Qiu Fu and other mid-level and high-level generals received the order to thank him, Zhu Gaoxu came out and reported his plan to use the Ministry of Finance's bank to issue treasury bonds in the name of the imperial court to Zhu Di.

Zhu Di received Zhu Gaoxu's report on the national debt last night, so he naturally agreed to the request.

After the dispersion of the dynasty, civil and military officials such as the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office of the Fifth Army were summoned to the Wuying Hall by the eunuchs in the Bureau of Ceremonies.

"Your Majesty, the puppet king of Annan first made a petition to plead guilty and expressed his willingness to welcome Chen Tianping, the descendant of the late King Annan, to return to the country for restoration. However, he went back on his word, ambushed our envoy from the Celestial Dynasty, captured Chen Tianping, and then killed him. This move made people angry and resentful. I request your Majesty to send troops to attack the puppet king of Annan!"

Jin Zhong, Minister of the Ministry of War, bowed and reported.

In February last year, the puppet king of Annan sent people to the court with tributes to plead guilty and expressed his willingness to welcome the descendants of the late King Annan to return to his throne. His attitude was so sincere that no one could find any problems.

At that time, Zhu Gaoxu believed that the puppet king was cunning, and the petition to plead guilty was probably a delaying measure. Perhaps the people in power in his country were worried that the Ming Dynasty would send troops for conquest, so they had already built many fortifications on their country's border fortresses, and they might even have started recruiting troops, building ships, and manufacturing firearms on a large scale.However, many people, including Zhu Di, felt that his guess was unlikely. The Ming Dynasty was so coercive that the small country of Annan dared to do this?
Therefore, Zhu Di ordered the governor Huang Zhong to escort Chen Tianping back to the country and ascend the throne.

After Hu Jishen, the actual leader of the Annan Kingdom, learned of this, he sent Hu Yuancheng to ambush at Zhilengguan, defeated the Ming army by surprise, and captured Chen Tianping.

Soon after, the puppet king of the Hu family sent a message saying that after their interrogation, they learned that Chen Tianping's real name was Ruan Kang. He was a domestic slave of Chen Yuanhui, the clan of the former Annan Kingdom. He had participated in the civil uprising and fled to Ailao (Laos) after the failure. ), and later fled into the Ming Dynasty via Ailao.

In order to comfort the soul of the late King Annan in heaven, the puppet king of the Hu family ordered Chen Tianping to be executed late.

After this explosive news was brought back to the Ming Dynasty by Governor Huang Zhong, the ministers in the court were instantly furious.

This is a slap in Daming’s face!

Jin Zhong, the Minister of War, immediately asked Zhu Di to send troops to destroy the puppet king of Annan and avenge the death of the Annan royal family.

Zhu Di has a bad temper, how can he tolerate this kind of thing?
He slapped the royal table angrily and said loudly: "How dare you insult me, an angel, and bully me into the kingdom, just a little barbarian king? It's a crime that cannot be punished!"

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead troops to conquer Hu's Annan, destroy his country, kill the false king, and save the people of his country from hanging upside down."

The commander of the vanguard of the government army, Zhang Yu, came out and bowed respectfully.

Since he returned to the Ming Dynasty as a magistrate of the Yuan Privy Council before the 18th year of Hongwu, he first participated in the Battle of Yuerhai, and then accompanied Lan Yu in the expedition to the Yuanshun and Sanmao caves. He was promoted to the commanding officer with merit, and was later transferred to The left guard of Yanshan is under the command of King Zhu Di of Yan.

After that, he went to the fortress for many battles with Zhu Di, the king of Yan. Because of his bravery and resourcefulness in battle, he gradually gained Zhu Di's attention.

At that time, among the generals of the Yan army, "Zhang Yu was good at planning and Zhu Neng was good at fighting", so Zhu Di relied on him as his right-hand man.

But eight years have passed since Zhu Di moved into the East Palace. Although Zhang Yu is in the position of the third-rank avant-garde commander of the imperial army, Qiu Fu, who is of the same age as him, has now been named Qihou due to his meritorious service, and he is not even an earl. Not yet.

This expedition to Annan was a great opportunity to make meritorious deeds.

If he can destroy the false king of the Hu family, it will be a great achievement to destroy the country. Even though it is a small country, it can be enough to become a prince by virtue of this achievement.

Zhu Neng, the commander of the flag-bearer guards, followed him out of the queue and bowed: "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead troops to attack Annan, kill the puppet king of the Hu family, and enhance the national prestige of tomorrow's dynasty!"

A group of top nobles, headed by Wei Guogong Xu Huizu, saw Emperor Yongle's right and left men among the generals making statements one after another. Not to be outdone, they came out one after another and expressed their willingness to lead troops to destroy the puppet king of Annan for the court.

When Zhu Di saw that all the generals had recommended themselves, they all wanted to compete for the position of commander-in-chief of the southern expedition to Annan, and he felt a sense of relief in his heart.

He felt that he could give this opportunity to win over people's hearts to Zhu Gaoxu, so he asked loudly: "Prince, who do you think can be the commander-in-chief of this southern expedition?"

"Father, I believe that the people who will lead the army to conquer the puppet king of Annan this time must adapt to the hot and hot geographical climate in the south. Otherwise, they are likely to be unaccustomed to the climate and the people will get sick before the troops arrive."

Zhu Gaoxu came out of the queue and bowed.

"Who do you think is suitable?" Zhu Di asked.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "When I return to my father's palace, I think it must be Zhang Fu, the son of Zhang Yu, the commander of the imperial army's vanguard!"

"Why?" Zhu Di asked doubtfully.

Zhang Yu couldn't help but look sideways, looking towards the prince Zhu Gaoxu with gratitude in his eyes.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu replied: "As far as I know, Zhang Fu has great ambitions. Although he does not pay attention to details, he is filial and respectful in his heart. He scrutinizes affairs and is well-read. In the past five years, he has held the position of Tongzhi, the commander of the Fujian Capital Division. , train mostly in the south, and have already adapted to the hot flash climate in the south."

Zhang Fu was not in Wuying Hall, so Zhu Gaoxu recommended this person, in the eyes of many people, out of public concern.

In fact, Zhu Gaoxu just didn't want Zhu Neng, who went to Annan in history, to die of illness on the road and die young.

"What do you think, Minister of the Ministry of War?" Zhu Di looked at Jin Zhongdao.

Jin Zhong said seriously: "Zhang Fu is young and has no foundation in the southern army. If he is rashly appointed as the commander-in-chief of the southern expedition, he may not be able to convince the public."

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while and added: "Maybe he can be appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Southern Expedition first, and he can control the generals under his command with restraint, just like assuming the power of the commander-in-chief of the Southern Expedition."

Zhu Di was silent.

"Your Majesty, I still feel something is wrong!"

Jin Zhong looked at Zhu Di's face and found that he was not in a high mood, so he said cautiously: "Although Zhang Fu is a good candidate, the court has never restricted young talents from holding high positions, but the commander of the Southern Expedition is an important position in the court, and he must not be mature and prudent. Don’t let it go!”

Zhu Gaoxu clasped his fists and apologized to Zhu Di, bowing his head and saying: "This is just my humble opinion. Who to recommend as the commander-in-chief of the Southern Expedition depends entirely on my father's decision!"

"I heard that since last year, when Fujian Capital Commander Qian Shi Sheng Yong defeated three thousand Japanese pirates and pirates on the southeast coast, destroyed the pirate alliance, and was granted the title of Marquis of Licheng, he has been recuperating at home?"

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly said: "What the father said is true. The Marquis of Licheng is still strong and can shoot a three-stone bow. In his early years, he has been serving as the commander of the capital in Fujian and is responsible for military training. As the father said, the Marquis of Licheng is He should be the perfect choice to be the commander-in-chief of the Southern Expedition!"

During the Hongwu period, Sheng Yongguan came to the capital to command.

Historically, in the first year of Jianwen, Sheng Yong followed Geng Bingwen as a general to defeat King Zhu Di of Yan. After Li Jinglong replaced Geng Bingwen, he became subordinate to Li Jinglong.

In April of the second year of Jianwen, Li Jinglong was defeated at Baigouhe and fled to Jinan.Yan soldiers followed, and Li Jinglong fled south again.Sheng Yong and Tie Xuan, who participated in the political affairs, held on with all their strength, and Yan soldiers besieged Jinan for three months.

Sheng Yong and Tie Xuan sent troops to attack at night. The Yan soldiers were defeated and escaped to relieve the siege. Sheng Yong and others took advantage of the victory to regain Dezhou. Later, they were granted the title of Marquis of Licheng based on their merits, and were promoted to General Ping Yan and served as general military officers.In Dongchang, he defeated Zhu Di, the king of Yan, and killed Zhang Yu, the general of the Yan army.

In March of the third year of Jianwen, Sheng Yong was defeated in the Battle of Jiahe and retreated to Dezhou.The following year, Zhu Di led his troops to cross the Yellow River while avoiding the main force of the Ming army. Sheng Yong also led his troops south to intercept them.In May, the Yan army defeated Sheng Yong who was stationed on the south bank of the Huaihe River and continued to march towards the capital Nanjing. Yong was defeated in all battles at Liuhe, Puzikou and Gaozi Port.

After Zhu Di entered Nanjing, Sheng Yong led his troops to surrender and was ordered to guard Huai'an. He later became an official in the first year of Yongle, but was soon impeached and committed suicide because of his ulterior motives.

The time traveler Zhu Gaoxu changed history, and the fate of Sheng Yongzhi, a talented general, was also reversed. Not only was he awarded the title of Marquis of Licheng for his military exploits against foreign invaders, but he also won the favor of Zhu Di because of his simplicity in the emperor's heart.

"Yes, Your Majesty has foresight. General Sheng is indeed the best candidate. I admire you!" Jin Zhong smiled and agreed meaningfully.

Jin Zhong thought more deeply than Zhu Gaoxu. As far as he knew, Sheng Yong originally complained about Zhu Di lifting the sea ban, but when the pirates invaded and he led troops to wipe out a group of pirates, he became a strong supporter of Kaihai. By.

Because Sheng Yong's position as marquis was obtained by killing pirates. If he didn't open the sea, how could he continue to go to sea to kill pirates?How to demonstrate his illustrious martial arts?
"Zhang Yu, what do you think?" Zhu Di looked at Zhang Yu, the commander of the advance guard of the government army, and asked.

Although Zhang Yu felt that it was a pity that his son Zhang Fu failed to become the commander-in-chief of the Southern Expedition, in comparison, Licheng Hou Shengyong was indeed more suitable.

"I feel that Marquis Licheng is indeed the best candidate to lead the Southern Expedition." Zhang Yu said respectfully.

"Since the ministers have no objections to the recommendation of Marquis Licheng as the commander-in-chief of the Southern Expedition, the matter has been settled."

Zhu Di nodded.

(End of this chapter)