Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 356: This act alone is a combination of grace and power
In the third year of Qianxi's reign, it was the sixth day of the sixth lunar month.

The sun was shining brightly, the sky was blue and cloudless.

Ten miles east of the former site of Helin City, outside the main tent of the Ming Army.

Duke Cao Li Jinglong was wearing cool summer military uniforms and holding a stack of documents in his arms. As soon as he walked into the camp gate, he saw six generals in armor kneeling on the grass outside the tent.

The leader is Song Ying, the former commander of the Fuxuan Division of the Shaanxi-Pu Dudufu and the current "Admiral of the Fifth Battalion in the Desert."

In September of the second year of Qianxi, before Zhu Gaoxu returned to Beijing after his triumphant northern expedition, he left five battalions to garrison in Moxi and Mobei.

At that time, Song Ying served as the acting commander of the first battalion stationed on the west bank of the Zabhan River, responsible for the labor reform of the surrendered soldiers from the Tumut and Batut tribes, such as building houses and transporting stones.

After Song Ying took office, he personally inspected the surrounding terrain, combined with the geographical characteristics of the Yanran Mountains, and used local materials to formulate detailed plans for building cities, buildings, and warehouses for storing fodder and grain.

At that time, he emphasized to the commanders and military craftsmen under his control that the first thing to do next was to build a warehouse that could withstand the snowstorm as soon as possible, and the warehouse should be of a size that could hold at least [-] shi of grain.

Although everyone did not understand why Song Ying did this, they did not dare to disobey the military order.

When the quartermaster sent by Zhu Gaoxu delivered 20 shi of grain [-] days later, the commanders and military craftsmen were immediately impressed by Song Ying's foresight.

When Zhu Gaoxu learned about this, he was overjoyed and praised Song Ying as the son of Duke Wu Ning of Song Dynasty. He then issued an edict to appoint Song Ying as the "Admiral Minister of the Five Battalions Garrisoned in the Desert", that is, to manage the five battalions stationed in Moxi and Mobei. .

After Xining Marquis Song Sheng died of illness, Zhu Di posthumously named him the Duke of Xining County and gave him the posthumous title "Wuning". Therefore, "Song Wuning Gong" is an honorific title for Song Sheng.

Zhu Gaoxu sent Prince Zhu Zhanyu to Helin to take charge of the construction of acropolis, roads, inns, factories and other affairs in various capitals in the desert. At the same time, he appointed Cao Guogong Li Jinglong, Pingyang Boyuneng and Song Ying as associate ministers to assist Zhu Zhanyu.

When the carriages of Zhu Zhanyu, Li Jinglong, and Qu Neng arrived at Helin yesterday, Song Ying led various battalion commanders, commander Qu, and other civil and military officials to hold a grand welcoming ceremony.

Moreover, Zhu Zhanyu hosted a dinner in the big tent last night to reward the soldiers. The scene was very lively and everyone was enjoying themselves.

Li Jinglong got up at dawn this morning, washed up, and finished his breakfast as quickly as possible.

Then he went around the construction site next to the former site of Helin City as planned to learn about the progress of the project and the troubles the craftsmen encountered.

This new city under construction is called "Dragon City". It was named after Zhu Gaoxu, and Li Jinglong did not dare to be careless.

After visiting for an hour, he hurriedly returned to the military camp and went to the Chinese army's tent to find Zhu Zhanyu to report his official duties.

But he didn't expect to see such a scene outside the big tent.

"Admiral Song, what happened? Why are you kneeling here?"

Li Jinglong leaned over and asked.

"The Crown Prince has decreed that everyone who will be late for the meeting today will be ordered to kneel for an hour as punishment."

Song Ying replied indifferently.

"They were punished by kneeling down for being late. Don't you believe that Admiral Song is also late?"

Li Jinglong said with confusion on his face.

"Song is the commander-in-chief of the fifth battalion. The generals are late. It can be said that they are incapable of discipline. Of course, he must kneel with him."

Song Ying explained.

"Admiral Song, please get up, please get up!"

Li Jinglong put the document under his armpit and went to help Song Ying.

He knew that Song Ying was the associate minister appointed by Zhu Gaoxu, so he could not sit idly by and ignore this matter.

Song Ying had a stubborn temper and refused to get up.

Li Jinglong had no choice but to look at the other five generals and said loudly: "Generals, get up quickly. I'll go ask the prince for instructions."

"Cao Guogong, please don't go."

Mao Sheng saw that Song Ying was silent, so he said: "Since Your Majesty has given full authority to the Crown Prince to establish a capital in the grassland and build cities, inns, and factories, then the general and others will be late for no reason, and they will be punished to kneel by the Crown Prince. It is your own fault. Besides, it would have been nice if Your Highness did not kill the generals and others with the mighty stick."

Li Jinglong finally heard that Mao Sheng was complaining about Zhu Zhanyu's actions, and he also saw that Zhu Zhanyu wanted to take the opportunity to establish his authority.

But he must say a few good words for Zhu Zhanyu, otherwise once this matter goes through fermentation and develops in a direction that is not good for Zhu Zhanyu, Zhu Zhanyu will definitely lose some of his hearts.

So, Li Jinglong advised in a gentle voice: "I tell you, generals, the prince is in charge of everything on the grassland, so he has to be more cautious in everything. As ministers, we should be more considerate of him!"

"Yes, the general and others are kneeling here, caring carefully!"

Mao Sheng retorted in a low voice. "Oh, you generals are busy with military affairs. You can't waste even half an hour, let alone an hour. Please get up quickly, please get up quickly!"

Li Jinglong could not let this kind of resentment spread among the middle and high-level generals stationed in the fifth camp on the grassland. He grabbed the arm of the general behind Song Ying and pulled him hard while persuading him.

"Mr. Cao Guo, His Highness the Crown Prince asked the generals to kneel down, and you asked the generals to stand up. Doesn't this seem to be tampering with the Crown Prince's order?"

Song Ying noticed from the corner of her eye that two generals were about to get up, and she hurriedly spoke.

Li Jinglong was immediately speechless, and the two generals also gave up the idea of ​​standing up and lowered their heads.

Mao Shengyu was not surprised and kept saying: "Mr. Cao Guo, you came later than the general and others, do you also want to follow us to kneel down?"

"In that case, I will go and ask the prince for instructions."

Li Jinglong waved his sleeves helplessly and shook his head.

After he said this, he walked straight to the military tent.

But as soon as Li Jinglong opened the curtain, he was blocked by two Jinyi captains with knives.

"No one is allowed to enter without the Crown Prince's oral instructions. Please also ask Cao Guogong to wait here, and General Rong Mo will inform you."

At this time, the East Palace guard Wu Guanzhe, who was wearing a brocade military uniform, came over and bowed to Li Jinglong and saluted Li Jinglong.

"General Wu, I have something to ask you to see His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Li Jinglong bowed in return and said loudly.

He looked up and found that there was no figure of Zhu Zhanyu on the main seat in the big tent, but there was a figure flickering behind the screen behind the main seat.

"Who is making noise outside?"

Zhu Zhanyu's slightly angry voice came from behind the screen.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, I would like to see Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao State."

Li Jinglong responded quickly.

"It turns out to be Mr. Cao Guo, why are you here?"

Zhu Zhanyu unexpectedly walked out from behind the screen wearing a thin silk coat, holding a thick-backed knife in each hand.

"Your Highness."

Manager Wu rushed forward and took the two thick-backed knives from Zhu Zhanyu.

Zhu Zhanyu shook his arms, then put on his silk clothes, then sat down on the main seat with a golden sword, looked at Li Jinglong and said, "What's the matter with Cao Guogong?"

Li Jinglong saw that the sweat on Zhu Zhanyu's forehead had not yet dried. It was obvious that he was tired from wielding swords and guns behind the screen, so he advised: "Your Highness, you are better at work than hard work, and you are more wasteful at play!"

"When I was in the capital, I seemed to be wearing a heavy shackles. Even when I was in Datong, I was still walking on thin ice."

Zhu Zhanyu knew that Li Jinglong was persuading him with good intentions, but he also wanted Li Jinglong to understand his difficulties, so he explained: "Now that I have finally gone on a long journey, of course I have to relax. Besides, you gave me the two thick-backed knives as a gift." Lonely.”

"Your Highness, six generals of rank four or above have been kneeling outside the tent for a long time. Have you forgotten?"

Li Jinglong knew very well that Zhu Zhanyu liked to wield swords, guns, and martial arts, but now was not a good time for him to give advice, so he changed his tune.

Zhu Zhanyu retorted: "Last night I held a banquet to reward the generals, but this morning the generals were late for no reason. Is it wrong to punish them alone?"

He was not an idiot. Of course, he could see that these generals were used to being arrogant. On the surface, they were polite to him, but in fact, some of them did not take him seriously at all.

For example, the general named Mao Sheng relied on his meritorious service in following Zhu Gaoxu's northern expedition to Alutai last year. He often yelled at his subordinates, like using cattle and horses, and he was the last to come this morning.

If Mao Sheng had eyes for His Highness the Crown Prince, how could he dare to be so negligent in this morning's discussion?

"Your Highness, since Your Majesty has appointed you to be in charge of all matters on the grassland, you should take this opportunity to win over the generals!"

When Li Jinglong saw that Zhu Zhanyu did not listen to the advice, he had no choice but to speak out.

"You are right, but grace must be given, but prestige is even more indispensable. Doing this alone is a combination of grace and prestige."

Zhu Zhanyu explained.

(End of this chapter)