Zhu Yuanzhang can see my dreams

Chapter 357 357 It turns out that you are the one who hides the deepest

Only those who are at a disadvantage will constantly dodge and maneuver, trying to find various opportunities.

Those who have the advantage have many cards to play.

Li Jinglong was easily manipulated by Zhu Di. With so many cards in his hand, he didn't just send a troop to rescue at random. No one knows what he was thinking.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Wang Buli.

This kid really had a good relationship with the fourth brother, and he started to lecture him.

It seems that what Zhu Yunwen did also made many people in the court dissatisfied.

So when the fourth brother started to rebel, many people secretly hindered him.

Zhu Yuanzhang in particular also understood that some of Zhu Yunwen's confidants as emperor had some abilities, but putting them in the position of governing the country would naturally make many people feel that the new emperor did not know how to judge people.

Moreover, he killed so many vassal kings in one breath and didn't even care about his family affection, so how could he care about the lives of these old ministers?
It was not until April, when the weather turned warmer, that Li Jinglong led his troops into Zhending, Hebei, with a total of 600,000 soldiers, preparing for a decisive battle with Zhu Di at Baihegou.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the imperial court's camp and could not help but comment: "Li Jinglong is ambitious but has no strategy, Guo Ying is old and retreating, Wu Jie is cowardly but incessant, Hu Guan is arrogant and lax in his management of the army, Ping An is brave but stubborn and self-righteous.

Although there were 600,000 troops, they were all temporarily assembled troops from various units. With too many people, it was easy for them to become chaotic. They would not know what was behind them when they attacked in front, or they would not coordinate with the left and right when they attacked in the rear. Their generals were not in harmony, and their orders were inconsistent. They were doomed to fail.

Li Jinglong was on the road all winter long and had no time to rest. He had an army of 600,000 but was unable to fully utilize its advantages. "

Facts have proved that Lao Zhu has not been a leader for nothing over the years.

Although Ping An's ambush caused great difficulties for Zhu Di and Zhu Di almost lost his life several times, his second son Zhu Gaoxu was also a capable fighter and saved his father.

The fighting lasted until noon. Zhu Di used strong winds and fire to attack Li Jinglong's troops. As a result, Li Jinglong fled to Dezhou alone.

Li Jinglong led the remaining 100,000 soldiers to fight Zhu Di again, but was defeated again and continued to flee.

Only Jinan was defended by Governor Sheng Yong and Shandong Councillor Tie Xuan. The Yan army attacked the city and persuaded them to surrender many times, but all were successful, so Zhu Di withdrew his troops.

Li Jinglong was first mobilized in winter, and was defeated once at Baihegou, twice at Dezhou, and three times at Jinan, losing almost all of his main forces.

As a result, the central court had no capital to confront Zhu Di and switched from strategic offense to passive defense.

"I'm not sure I can lead so many people. Li Jinglong is really a brave guy."

Zhu Di couldn't help but make a comment.

"Yeah." Wang Buli also responded:
"Don't be complacent. If you change the commander, you may not be able to win so easily. Besides, he has so many soldiers under his command. Didn't he almost kill you on the battlefield several times?"

"Hey hey hey."

Zhu Di laughed a few times. The scene just now really surprised him.

When a person is on the battlefield, he should not have so many thoughts, but from a third-person perspective, it is indeed very thrilling.

Afterwards, Zhu Yunwen decisively promoted Sheng Yong, Ping An and other outstanding generals who fought against the Yan army to replace Li Jinglong.

Zhu Di was indeed a little proud in the face of successive victories, and was almost killed by Sheng Yong. Even the general Zhang Yu beside him died in the battle.

Zhu Di nearly died, but was once again saved by his second son Zhu Gaoxu.

But for some reason, every time when the situation on the battlefield was tense, there was always wind to help Zhu Di, and Sheng Yong was forced to flee to Dezhou on horseback like Li Jinglong.

When Wu Jie, Ping An and others fought against Zhu Di, a strong wind blew up during the fierce battle, and their battle line collapsed quickly.

"Damn it, I don't understand."

Wang Buli was the first to speak: "Why is it that every time the wind blows, it is favorable to the Yan army? Could it be that the fourth brother really has a destiny?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was also troubled by Wang Buli's words.

After all, this kind of thing is very reminiscent of the time when Emperor Guangwu of Han attacked Wang Mang's army and a meteorite fell from the sky, directly smashing Wang Mang's army and causing it to be defeated.

From then on, people all over the world believed that the Liu family still had to take the lead in the world.

Otherwise, why would the meteorites fall from the sky specifically hit Wang Mang's army and not Liu Xiu's army?

There's no way to seek justice for this kind of thing!
"Then you have stumped me."

Zhu Di actually didn't understand. Could it be that he was always in the upper hand every time the wind blew?
impossible.

Zhu Di could only think about how it would be easier for him to seize the opportunity. As for what Wang Buli said about destiny, he still didn't dare to think about it.

After all, if it was really destiny, why did he almost die on the battlefield several times?

Throughout the summer, the Prince of Yan continued to attack the canal supply lines to Zhending and Dezhou, destroying warehouses and transportation facilities from southern northern Zhili to southern Shandong, but Sheng Yong failed to cut off the Prince of Yan's supply lines along the canal.

Zhu Di launched a new offensive against Nanjing.

He followed the advice of the eunuchs in the emperor's palace who were spying for him, bypassing the fortified fortresses along the canal, Anhui, and the Huai River in southern Zhili, and concentrated his attacks on cities and counties that were poorly defended.

His troops bypassed Dezhou, crossed the Yellow River, and captured several choke points in northwestern Shandong within a month, completely cutting off the Ming government's supply lines to the north.

The court immediately sent Xu Huizu, the eldest son of the late General Xu Da and brother of the Princess of Yan, to lead troops to reinforce Shandong.

At this time, Zhu Yunwen no longer cared about this relationship because he really didn't have many generals to employ.

But he was unable to stop the King of Yan's army.

The Prince of Yan continued to advance southwards and captured the important city of Xuzhou.

At this time, the emperor's army withdrew from the Beijing area and Dezhou, trying to keep the Nanjing Jifu area.

But things were not as simple as Zhu Di had imagined. He was really defeated by Xu Huizu and suffered heavy losses, and several of his brave generals were killed in the battle.

Especially during the summer vacation, it rained continuously and the roads were muddy. Most soldiers in the north were not used to it. There was also a plague, so many people wanted to return north.

It was at this time that Zhu Neng stepped forward and used the example of Emperor Gaozu to encourage everyone.

The two armies confronted each other in Hefei.

But no one knows who made the move in the court, and the emperor directly recalled Xu Huizu. The reason seemed to be that the Prince of Yan was about to return north, and the capital could not be without a good general.

As a result, Zhu Yunwen listened to the advice of his court officials, recalled Xu Huizu, and weakened the military forces at the front.

Zhu Di took advantage of the Southern Army's lack of food and killed Ping An's reinforcements.

Even Ping An, who had repeatedly killed Yan army generals and made the Yan army tremble with fear, was captured alive.

Commander He Fu fled alone, and the morale of Prince Yan's army boosted greatly.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Wang Buli beside him again and said, "Is it you who is doing this in secret?"

Zhu Di also stared blankly at Wang Buli beside him. He also felt that he was doing too well. Every time at a critical juncture, Zhu Yunwen would always make a stupid move.

Who made this stupid move?
The most likely person is this guy Wang Buli.

After all, he is our military advisor. Who else can he help if not us?

Especially these stupid moves that happen frequently, but the reasons are very legitimate, it is inevitable that someone is giving random advice.

"Hmm?" Wang Buli certainly didn't think he had a role to play in this, so he asked in confusion: "Why does your Majesty say that?"

"Buli, if you want to help others succeed, that's fine." Zhu Yuanzhang patted the armrest and said with a smile, "But if you want to do bad things to others and hinder them, that's what you are good at."

In Zhu Yuanzhang's opinion, Wang Buli is a mean guy. I have ten ways to prevent you from doing such a thing, and I can also make you fool around.

Most people will fall into the carefully laid trap.

"Your Majesty has wronged my son-in-law. I will never do such an immoral thing."

"Humph." Zhu Yuanzhang naturally knew Wang Buli's concerns.

After all, everyone knows this secret, and it will be difficult not to take some countermeasures in the future.

"Are you worried that I'll kill you?"

Zhu Di was stunned at first, and he tried hard not to kneel down and beg for mercy for his father.

Wang Buli pondered and said, "Your Majesty, why do you want to kill me?"

“Even if there was no Wang Buli in this war, there would be Zhang Buli. Zhao Buli helped the fourth emperor to ascend the throne, which was completely like a new emperor ascending the throne. He abandoned all the policies of the previous emperor and incurred public anger.

Otherwise, why is there no generals available in the Ming Dynasty when there are so many dukes, marquises, and earls?

If something goes wrong, we need to look for our own faults and find out how we turned a huge advantage into a disadvantage."

"Buli, I always feel like you are on guard against me." Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard and smiled, "You are unwilling to open up to me."

"Your Majesty, you are making things difficult for me and your subjects. Whether Zhuge Liang can survive depends on whether the emperor is Liu Bei and Liu Chan, father and son."

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment.

At least in his eyes, if there really was a powerful minister like Zhuge Liang, Zhu Yuanzhang would not tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes.

Zhu Di looked at his father's reaction very nervously, and even gently pulled Wang Buli's sleeve to signal him not to talk like that. Sheng Yong's defense line on the Huai River was defeated by Zhu Di, and after bypassing the two strong fortified cities of Fengyang near the Huai River and Huai'an on the canal (near Hongze Lake), he went down the Huai River at lightning speed and captured Yangzhou.

7 The Prince of Yan’s troops were blocked by Sheng Yong’s navy at Puzikou on the other side of Nanjing.

Two days later, Chen Xuan, the deputy commander of the Yangtze River fleet, defected to the Prince of Yan, so the Prince of Yan's army had ships to cross the Yangtze River.

They immediately crossed the river and reached the outskirts of Nanjing without encountering any resistance.

In fact, before this, Zhu Yunwen had recalled his troops from the north and gathered new soldiers near Nanjing to defend the capital, but the court's policy was not finalized until the last moment.

The recalled Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng insisted on defending the capital at all costs; Li Jinglong and Ru Hong were inclined to resolve the issue through negotiation.

Li Jinglong and Prince Gu went to Longtan outside Nanjing to propose peace talks to Prince Yan, but were rejected.

Five days later, Li Jinglong and Prince Gu opened the Jinchuan Gate and welcomed the Yan army into the city.

Zhu Di couldn't help but get excited.

As a result, he saw Wang Buli at the city gate and asked him whether he wanted to enter the palace first or go to worship the late emperor first.

As a result, Zhu Di suddenly realized and went directly to the tomb of the previous emperor.

Wang Buli was also a little confused when he saw this scene.

This was entirely Yang Rong's job, how could he have let himself snatch it away?

Until this time, Zhu Yuanzhang's sinister words came again:

"Buli, you still say you didn't secretly plan something to help the fourth brother take the top position?"

Zhu Di didn't know what to say now.

My good brother, you are the one who has been hiding in the deepest place and supporting me to ascend the throne as emperor!
"No, Your Majesty." Wang Buli said quickly:
"How come I'm wearing the clothes of a minor official in the picture and look so young, not aging at all?"

"hiss."

Zhu Di also came to his senses. He saw that the future scenes of himself were all of a middle-aged man with a big beard.

On the other hand, Wang Buli still looks like he was young.

"Have you not looked in the mirror in the past few years?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked Wang Buli:
"I see that your appearance now is not much different from when I first met you.

I have always thought that you are mature beyond your years, and I never thought that you would look young even though you are old."

"what?"

Wang Buli looked at Zhu Di beside him in surprise: "Could it be that I really haven't changed at all?"

"Of course, even I have become a little older, but you are still the same."

Zhu Di also recalled it carefully and found that Wang Buli really did not look too old.

Although Wang Buli looked in the mirror every day, what he remembered in his mind were mostly other people's appearances, and he was not very familiar with his own appearance.

After all, most of the time, your face is for others to see.

Who looks in the mirror every day?

"You're always fighting in the army, while I'm at home recovering from my illness. I don't get much sun, so of course my appearance remains the same!"

Wang Buli quickly defended himself, but he was actually a little unsure.

No one reminded him of this!

In particular, although Wang Buli had drawn sketches for many people, he had never drawn one for himself.

Even if you have been included in the imperial paintings of the royal family, the main targets are the emperor and empress. The rest are villains, and it is good enough to have your name on them.

Therefore, Wang Buli naturally did not feel that he was not getting old.

"You're not really immortal, are you?" Zhu Di said slowly.

"I want to live forever." Wang Buli sat down again and said with a smile:

"Maybe I got this opportunity by chance. Although I won't live forever, maybe I have found eternal youth."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought Wang Buli's words were very reasonable.

If you can have such a great fate, there is nothing impossible about eternal youth.

If there is no immortality, at least we can do the next best thing!
A fire broke out in the imperial palace compound in Nanjing.

"When the fire was put out, several charred bodies were found, said to be those of Zhu Yunwen, the queen, and his eldest son Zhu Wenkui."

"Buli, do you think the emperor set himself on fire?"

"Hard to say."

Wang Buli said slowly, "If you scratch a few lines on the face and add fuel to the fire, it will be hard to tell whose body it is. It's hard to tell by blood test."

Zhu Di also understood what Wang Buli meant, and he had also received scientific education.

In fact, deep down in his heart, he thought that Zhu Yunwen and his wife and three of them must have disguised themselves and fled, faking their own deaths to get away.

After all, Qin Hui still has three good friends.

How could an emperor not have any loyal confidants?

Especially since the palace is so large, it is very easy to disguise yourself and sneak out of the palace and hide outside under the guidance of eunuchs or palace maids.

But Zhu Di was not worried, because he was destined to be the emperor anyway.

Zhu Yuanzhang had known this result for a long time, so he was not surprised at this time.

He suddenly asked, "Buli, how do you think the battle went?"

"Generally speaking, the fourth brother is still unrivaled in the world in terms of military affairs in the Ming Dynasty at this time."

Because Zhu Yuanzhang saw the remaining months, it was called the thirty-fifth year of Hongwu.

In this way, the new emperor explicitly denied the legitimacy of Emperor Jianwen; he called the following year the first year of Yongle.

All the laws and systems of the founding emperor were restored.

"The battle was fought well." Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard and said, "But I think this war was entirely driven by those civil officials."

"Ah."

Wang Buli responded, "The fourth brother's base is the support of the officers who have fought in the northern border for many years, while Zhu Yunwen's left and right are all based in Nanjing, relying on the support of the Confucian elite group in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

They believed that totalitarian rule like that of Your Majesty's time would greatly endanger the dynasty, and they believed that this could only be corrected by enhancing Confucian values ​​and the authority of the civil service and removing powerful and semi-autonomous princes.

In fact, it is just what my son-in-law said before. The interest groups in the south will be like the Southern Song Dynasty. They don’t think that the north is also part of the country, and they look down on the people there, especially the warriors. "

Zhu Yuanzhang also knew this. Most of the people in the court were from the south, so they naturally had to consider the interests of the south and give up the north if possible.

Anyway, it’s not my land that was lost.

Now this group of people are taking advantage of his death to instigate the new emperor to stir up trouble, and it is difficult for those meritorious generals to cooperate with them to cut their own flesh.

Then when Zhu Di was in chaos, it was completely normal to sit on the fence or secretly help.

"I have been trying to find a way to balance the north and the south. Otherwise, the southerners will have the final say in the court in the future. Once the Mongols invade again, the north will be easily abandoned by these people."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed: "But I have never found any decent way to alleviate this situation."

"You have always been resourceful, but is there anything you can teach me?"

Wang Buli shook his head and said, "I don't have any good solution. I can only increase the number of scholars in the north so that we can fight against the southerners. However, in the environment of Confucian education, the southerners have a great advantage.

The time advantage of hundreds of years is difficult to eliminate in a short period of time.

Moreover, because of the war, the population in the north is smaller than that in the south, so there is not much we can do except relocate the people.”

Zhu Yuanzhang listened to Wang Buli repeating the same old things, but he actually knew in his heart that this matter could not be rushed.

But those civil servants started making trouble immediately after the death of the founding emperor, and they did not take him seriously at all.

But then again, how many people would be afraid of a dead emperor?

Zhu Di was also listening carefully at the side, after all, he was also the emperor.

It would be beneficial to listen more when it comes to governing a country. At least in this regard, his father had never taught him anything about the mindset of an emperor.

Zhu Yunwen learned a little, but completely abandoned what his grandfather did, listened to the words of those civil servants, and actively released more benefits to them.

"Is it possible that our Ming Dynasty is destined to suffer this disaster?"

(End of this chapter)