King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "Who?"

Zhu Tan smiled and said, "I wonder if you still remember this person, Tao Chengdao!"

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while and said: "Is it him? We gave him the name Chengdao!"

Zhu Yuanzhang instantly remembered this person.

He was originally the mountain chief of Taojia Academy in Zhejiang. He didn't take his disciples to study hard, but he fell in love with practicing alchemy.

After the alchemy failed, he probably discovered that the explosive power of this thing was really good, so he turned to studying firearms again.

After he killed Chen Youliang and became the Queen of Wu, when passing through Zhejiang, Tao Chengdao took his disciples and dedicated the various firearms he had researched to himself.

In the following wars, Tao Chengdao's firearms repeatedly made military exploits. In order to commend him, he also sealed ten thousand households of him.

Think of this.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded immediately.

"It turns out that this person was taken away by you! You are really thoughtful! No wonder you can produce such a powerful firearm!"

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while, and suddenly an idea came to his mind.

He smiled and said: "In this case, the imperial court should indeed commend him! Let's promote Tao Chengdao to the left minister of the Ministry of Industry! Go to Yingtian to handle errands! I will reward you with two thousand guan!"

When Zhu Tan heard this, he was stunned.

Then his face turned red!

Why is Lao Zhu so black-hearted!
You haven't even said a few words, and you're poaching again?
Tao Chengdao is now the first person among his subordinates to study firearms. If he joins the court as an official, wouldn't he be making wedding clothes for the court in vain?
I just wanted Lao Tao to come out and cover my side, but I didn’t want to send him out directly!
This is a huge loss!

Okay
Lao Zhu is too stingy, so he can still be saved this time.

Zhu Tan said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Father! Is this reward too little?"

The words fell.

Everyone was stunned.

Tao Chengdao was just a man with ten thousand households, and he suddenly became the left minister of the Ministry of Industry of the Ming Dynasty. That was a third-rank official!

Why is the reward still low?

What's more, he was also rewarded with two thousand coins!

That's equivalent to five hundred taels of tattooed silver!
In other words, it’s one thousand dan of grain!

This reward would probably knock Tao Chengdao unconscious!
After all, the annual salary of a first-class official is only one thousand dan, and 30% of it has to be converted into treasure notes and given out!

You can't even get a thousand stones.

Tao Chengdao is a mere craftsman, how can he be so virtuous and capable?

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and looked at Zhu Tan, saying: "Is this reward small? The treatment of a third-rank official in the imperial court, plus two thousand guan of money! This is considered wealth from heaven to him! Are you still dissatisfied for him?"

Zhu Tan gave a dry laugh and said: "Back to my father, Tao Chengdao's annual salary is 80,000 yuan! He has developed new firearms, and there are additional rewards! For example, these firearms and two kinds of artillery, each of them, The minister rewarded him with another 40,000 guan! This year, he is expected to receive 200,000 guan!

The official position is indeed not small, but the money, I will admit it bluntly, is indeed a little short! "

The words fell.

Everyone looked at each other.

Zhu Yuanzhang was the boss with his eyes wide open.

"How much more?"

Zhu Tan said honestly: "Two hundred thousand guan! If you break it into silver, it will be 50,000 taels, and if you break it into grain, it will be 100,000 shi."

Zhu Yuanzhang glared angrily and said: "Prodigal son! Why do you pay so much money to a craftsman! Do you know how many great things we can do with so much money!"

Zhu Tan laughed dryly and stopped answering.

Zhu Xi looked at Zhu Di beside him with some sadness and said: "Fourth brother, I am so poor! I am not as much as a craftsman's salary for a year!"

Zhu Di gritted his teeth and said, "I'm not as good as me."

King Qin Zhu Xi couldn't help but shook his head and said: "Prodigal son! People like Lao Shi really do it all when they have money!"

the other side.

Lan Yu looked at Zhu Tan and couldn't help but said: "His Royal Highness King Lu, otherwise, I will lead King Lu's guards for you, right? The salary is not too high, just the same as Tao Chengdao!"

Speaking of which.

Forget about rewards.

Two thousand strings is really a small amount of money to teach others the way to achieve enlightenment!

Shabby!

Zhu Yuanzhang blushed a little.

As for joining the court as an official,
I guess Tao Chengdao may not be willing, right?
Zhu Yuanzhang knew this well.

If it were other times, even if this third-grade official had no salary, many people would flock to him. Even if Lao Shi offered Tao Chengdao a salary of one million yuan, I am afraid that Tao Chengdao would happily give up his salary and choose to be an official!

But in the Hongwu Dynasty, this was not necessarily the case.
First of all, being an official is hard!
They only have three days off a year, and their salary is pitiful. At the same time, they have to be careful every day to cross the river with their eggs. If they accidentally offend the emperor, all three clans will suffer.

Secondly, there are no benefits to being an official!
From Jinyiwei to Guishizhong to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, everyone can supervise the behavior of officials!
Even ordinary people can report the misconduct of officials to the court at any time!

As long as you are discovered, the consequences will be skinning and weeding!

And Tao Chengdao is now doing what he likes every day, and his annual salary is as high as 80,000 yuan!
In addition, he already has an official status and is a member of the Ten Thousand Households, so he has no obsession with this status. He may not be willing to be the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, let alone the Minister of the Ministry of Industry!

Of course, Lao Zhu could force him to join the court.

But why should I ask for trouble and act as if I want to curry favor with him?
Think of this.

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little disappointed and said: "That's it! That's all! Your Royal Highness, King Lu, is so generous! You have already given me the reward, so what else should I give him? As a man, you must know how to cherish blessings. You have already received so much money, and you will be taboo about receiving any more rewards!"

Zhu Tan smiled bitterly.

Finally, Tao Chengdao was saved.

Seeing that the generals had no objections, Zhu Yuanzhang decided on the next strategy for the Northern Expedition!
"Now that we have unified opinions, let's conquer Naha first!"

Everyone took orders one after another.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Fu Youde and Zhu Fan and said calmly: "Prince Jin and Duke Ying! I originally planned to order you to go together! But now, we have a new idea!"

talking.

Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly: "King Jin and Duke Ying, please listen! We order you two to return to Datong and lead 50,000 troops to clean up Mobei! Now is the time for livestock to multiply on the grassland. We cannot let these grassland people get too comfortable. ! Sweep their tribes, plunder their livestock, and bring back any prisoners they can, and kill them all if they can’t! In short, if Togu Si Timur is really courageous, he will do whatever it takes to support Naha! Just go out!"

The words fell.

The two of them bowed and accepted the order.

In fact, most of the military generals in the early Ming Dynasty were married to Lao Zhu's sons.

For example, Prince Zhu Biao is the son-in-law of Kaiping King Chang Yuchun, Qin King Zhu Feng is the son-in-law of Wei Duke Deng Yu, Yan King Zhu Di is the son-in-law of Xu Da, and Zhou King Zhu Ji is the son-in-law of Feng Sheng.
As for Jin Wang Zhu Fan and Fu Youde, they are sons and daughters.

Zhu Fan's crown prince Zhu Jixi was Fu Youde's son-in-law.

Therefore, the two people will cooperate more smoothly because of their relative relationship.

Zhu Tan couldn't help but be secretly surprised after hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's order.

Lao Zhu is so poisonous! He is worthy of being the ruthless man who led the Huaixi Red Scarf Army from small to large, and finally unified the world!
Everyone knows that Chang Yuchun, Xu Da, Li Wenzhong and others are godly soldiers. Who knew that Lao Zhu was even more powerful than them?
In this way, if the army of Mobei Yuanting went to rescue Naha, it is estimated that there would not be many troops left in the entire Mobei grassland. By then, I'm afraid all the tribes in Mobei will suffer heavy losses, or even become extinct!

You know, historically, Ming Xianzong Zhu Jianshen liked to use this trick.

They often send large armies to plow the courtyard to clean holes, and this is not just for the Jurchens.

It was equally cruel to the Mongols.

Every year, the Ming army was sent to madly destroy the Mongolian tribes, killing people with the left hand and plundering livestock with the right hand. The Mongolian tribes suffered heavy losses and eventually had to leave the Hetao.

Zhu Jianshen also took back the Hetao area in one fell swoop.

At that time, Zhu Jianshen organized a surprise attack on the Mongolian army, which usually amounted to no more than ten thousand.

But now, if the Ming army of 50,000 people were having fun on the grassland, the Mongolian scalps would be numb!

It is estimated that the Mongolian tribes adjacent to Jiubian will be in bad luck.

Soon, all other matters regarding the Northern Expedition were settled.

As it was originally rumored, Feng Sheng, Duke of Song Dynasty, was the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition and was appointed as the general who conquered the captives.

Fu Youde was appointed deputy commander, but he did not go out with Feng Sheng, but Zhuan'er and Jin Wang Zhu Fan to clean up Mobei.

The deputy generals are Wuding Hou Guo Ying and Yongchang Hou Lanyu, who were appointed as the left and right deputy generals respectively.

The accompanying vassal kings were Qin Wang Zhu Feng, Yan Wang Zhu Di, Zhou Wang Zhu Ju, Qi Wang Zhu Zhu and Lu Wang Zhu Tan.

Of course, nominally, Zhu Ping still commanded the army.

After all, according to Lao Zhu's rules, the status of the vassal king is higher than that of all ministers.

It's just that in actual combat, the commander is Feng Sheng, and these vassal kings must obey orders.

Outside Peking City.

Two hundred thousand troops gathered.

Zhu Yuanzhang was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and a golden winged crown on his head. He stood on the top of the city with a majestic face.

Beside him stood various civil and military officials, such as Xu Da, Duke of Wei, Wen Xiangqing, the left minister of the Ministry of War, and others.
Under the city.

Standing in the first row are the six vassal kings headed by Qin King Zhu Fang, followed by Song Guogong Feng Sheng and others.

The generals were riding tall horses, facing the city gate.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at everyone.

My heart was racing for a moment.

Behind him, the Ming Dynasty dragon flag fluttered.

In front of us is the boundless Ming army formation.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked down at the city, took a deep breath, and sounded like a loud bell: "Eighteen years ago, I stood on the city wall of Yingtian Mansion to see off generals Xu Da and Chang Yuchun! I look forward to them carrying forward the glory of our Han family and restoring their glory." My Chinese hometown!
They lived up to my expectations, recaptured Youyun with thunderous force, and frightened away Emperor Yuan Shun! The banner of our Han family is flying here again after five hundred years! "

The words fell.

Xu Da's expression changed suddenly.

He couldn't help but think of the ambition and heroic spirit of the Northern Expedition.

In the blink of an eye, Chang Yuchun had died of illness early, and Li Wenzhong, Deng Yu and others who had fought together at that time also passed away one after another.
As for himself, he had just passed through a life-and-death situation. Even though he had recovered from his illness, Xu Da still felt that his body was not as strong as before.

Thinking of this, Xu Da couldn't help but feel a little sentimental.

Looking at the Ming Dynasty soldiers who are as vigorous as dragons in the city, I can't help but feel sad that there are many talented people in the country, but I am already old.

Zhu Yuanzhang said loudly: "Today, in the eighteenth year of Hongwu, I am here again to serve you all!
I hope that you will inherit the ambition of the martyrs, launch the Northern Expedition, and take Liaodong directly!

I hope that you can be like Xu, Chang and other seniors in the past, with cavalry like dragons, flattening Naha's army formation, and returning my homeland of Liaodong!

You are the elite of my Ming Dynasty, my humerus!
This expedition is not only to expand the territory, but also to seek the glory of the rejuvenation of our Han family! "

Zhu Yuanzhang said sonorously and forcefully, "I am in Yingtian, waiting for good news. When you return in triumph, I will definitely reward you heavily!"

The words fell.

All the generals in the city shouted in unison: "Long live, long live, long live my emperor!"

Amidst the waves of mountains and tsunamis, Zhu Tan's heart surged.

After the shouting stopped.

Zhu Tan suddenly remembered a voice.

Once upon a time, those shouts had made his heart surge!
"The sun, moon, mountains and rivers will always be there, and the Ming Dynasty will always be there!"

Zhu Tan couldn't help but shout loudly.

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other.

They were all a little shocked.

After all, no one has shouted this slogan before.

Zhu Di felt excited when he heard Zhu Tan's shout. He immediately raised his sword and shouted: "The sun, moon, mountains and rivers will always be there, and the Ming Dynasty will always be there!"

Seeing the two vassal kings shouting such slogans, people around thought that it was arranged in advance. Soon, the shouts rang out in unison.

"The sun, moon, mountains and rivers will always be there, and the Ming Dynasty will always be there!"

The shocking shouts resounded throughout the audience, and Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but be extremely excited when he was listening at the top of the city.

"Okay! Okay! This is well said! The sun and the moon will always be there, and the Ming Dynasty will always be there! Haha! Who took the lead in shouting? Not bad!"

Xu Da smiled and said: "I saw that His Royal Highness King Lu shouted out first!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and looked at Zhu Tan with admiration on his face.

"Lao Shi was very talented in literature when he was in Yingtian, but he rarely showed this kind of performance when he was a feudal lord. Today, it can be seen that this kid still has talent, haha."

soon.

King Qin and others saluted and said goodbye to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Two hundred thousand Northern Expedition troops, set off!
Jinshan. (Today's Jilin)
The current Kaiyuan King of Yuanting, Taiwei Nahachu, was sitting on an extremely luxurious chair with a solemn expression on his face.

He was the first of the "Four Heroes" under Genghis Khan and a descendant of Mu Huali.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there were thousands of households on Taiping Road.

In the fifteenth year of Yuan Zhizheng, because Taiping Road was the gateway to Jiqing Road (later Yingtian), Zhu Yuanzhang first attacked Jiqing Road before attacking Yingtian, and thus captured Nahachu.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang had always adhered to the strategy of treating Meng Yuan well, so he did not imprison or kill Nahachu, who came from a well-known family, but sent him back to the north.

Only then did Naha have the opportunity to control Liaodong in the north and became the current Kaiyuan King and Taiwei.

Nowadays, Nahachu has nearly 300,000 soldiers, controls a large area of ​​​​Liaodong, borders the Jurchens and Goryeo, and is powerful, even above Mobei Yuanting.

Therefore, the relationship between Nahachu and Yuanting has long been on an equal footing. On weekdays, the exchange of letters and envoys between the two parties is extremely polite.

This time, Naha looked at the Yuanting envoy in front of him and frowned: "What is your Majesty's purpose this time?"

While asking, Naha couldn't help but sneer.

Is there such a miserable person in this world? He doesn’t even have his own capital!
(End of this chapter)