Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 53 Interesting Relationship

Li Jinglong, with his handsome appearance and graceful manners, could easily give people a good first impression. In addition, he was the grandson of Li Zhen and the son of Li Wenzhong, and he was well-read and familiar with historical records, so it was not surprising that he was deeply loved by Zhu Yuanzhang.

When Zhu Yunhuan arrived at the Central Army Commandery, he said directly, "I don't know much about military affairs. I've only glanced over the Art of War. If you tell me something too profound, I'm sure I won't understand."

Knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing.

Zhu Yunhuan did not think that he was a hexagonal warrior like Lao Zhu, and he had no military reserves. Even as a military fan, he seemed to be very interested in some wars in ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad.

But he just talked about it with relish. It was definitely unrealistic for him to command thousands of troops in the Ming Dynasty. He couldn't even understand the simplest drills, baggage supplies, etc.

Li Jinglong smiled and complimented, "Your Highness is too modest. Your Highness is intelligent and studious, and has thousands of troops in his mind. Today, I have the audacity to embarrass myself in front of Your Highness!"

When I met Li Jinglong yesterday, I just took a quick look at him, but now it’s different, I can talk to him more.

Zhu Yunhuan was still somewhat curious about Li Jinglong.

As the successor to Geng Bingwen as the general, Li Jinglong had such outstanding military achievements that many people called him the first god of war of the Ming Dynasty.

He led a large army to besiege Peking and almost broke through the city guarded by Zhu Gaochi. Then Zhu Di returned and Li Jinglong was defeated and fled.

After the failure of the first Northern Expedition, Li Jinglong led the army for the second time, but was defeated miserably at Baigou River, losing hundreds of thousands of troops. After Zhu Di went south, he was ordered to seek peace and divide the country by the river, but was rejected.

The result was that Li Jinglong and Prince Gu opened the Jinchuan Gate to surrender and welcome the Yan army into the capital.

When Zhu Di conferred titles on the heroes who had contributed to the Jingnan Rebellion, not only was Li Jinglong, an old minister of Emperor Jianwen, given the title of Prince Grand Tutor, but whenever the court discussed important matters, he was always at the top of the list, which made the heroes very angry and dissatisfied.

The final outcome was also absurd. It was Li Jinglong who led his men to surround the Prince Zhou's Palace and brought Zhu Su back to Yingtian Prefecture.

During the Yongle period, Zhu Su impeached Li Jinglong. Then Li Jinglong was idle at home, and then placed under house arrest. The god of war who survived a hunger strike for ten days lived until the middle and late Yongle period.

It is very interesting that a person who is admired and valued by Lao Zhu loses inexplicably one after another.

Li Jinglong was explaining the art of war seriously. Not only Xu Yungong who was standing next to him, but even Zhu Chong and others nodded repeatedly.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Yunhuan found it even more interesting.

Zhu Yunhuan was thinking about random things while listening to the lecture.

He knew his own capabilities and had no intention of leading his troops into battle himself.

Of course a man will dream of fighting with weapons and iron horses, but if he doesn't have the ability, he shouldn't try to be brave. What's more, there are generals in the court. Let's not talk about the veteran generals who founded the country. Lan Yu should be able to hold on, and there are also Xu Huizu, Li Jinglong, Ping An, Qu Neng, Wu Gao and others.

Among the heroes of the Jingnan Campaign, there is a Zhang Yu. We must find a way to get him here. He should be worth training. Qiu Fu, the first hero of the Jingnan Campaign, died in battle outside the Great Wall because he underestimated the enemy, but he is also worth training. Zhu Neng, the second hero of the Jingnan Campaign, is still very young, probably in his twenties.

It is better to lead the army in person than to make the best use of talents and prepare the troops and supplies, which is more meaningful.

After listening to the class, Zhu Yunhuan prepared to leave. He came to learn military tactics and so on, not just for the sake of formality.

Zhu may have intended to let Zhu Yunhuan show up more in front of the nobles, so that he would have the opportunity to meet some nobles. This is not to hope that Zhu Yunhuan can learn more skills, even if he does not have to lead the troops himself, it is not a bad thing to know some military affairs.

Seeing Zhu Yunhuan was about to leave, Li Jinglong hurried forward and said, "Your Highness, I was rude yesterday. Please forgive me."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Li Jinglong and said, "My cousin from Jiujiang, you are being too polite. My great-aunt and great-uncle treated my grandfather very well, and my cousin also made countless contributions when he was alive. We are all family, so there is no need to be polite."

Hearing Zhu Yunhuan's words, Li Jinglong felt relieved. Zhu had allowed Li Jinglong's grandfather, Li Zhen, to wear the five-clawed dragon robe. In order to see this only surviving relative of the same generation, Zhu had given Li Zhen a house in the imperial city and allowed Zhu Biao and others to visit him often.

When Zhu Yuanzhang was a child, his brother-in-law Li Zhen often helped him. But after Zhu Yuanzhang became rich and emperor, Li Zhen was still like an ordinary peasant, mending his clothes, which was definitely a role model for a foreign relative.

After seeing Xu Yungong, Zhu Yunhuan looked at his fourth uncle again. This was also an interesting combination.

Xu Yungong was an extremely staunch supporter of the emperor in history, so he showed no mercy to his brother-in-law Zhu Di when he led his troops. After Zhu Di conquered Yingtian Prefecture, he placed Xu Huizu under house arrest until he died of illness.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunhuan said, "Fourth Uncle, you haven't seen Duke Wei for a long time. You two can chat."

Zhu Di originally thought it was nothing, but then he felt something was wrong.

After looking at Xu Huizu, Zhu Di said, "He and I have never gotten along well, and I have seen him in the court."

Xu Huizu also stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, I have inherited the title by the grace of the Emperor. Now I am in charge of the Central Military Governor's Office. How can I have private dealings with the prince? Please understand, Your Highness!"

Zhu Yunhuan laughed in silence and said, "No wonder! Well, I thought we were all relatives, but you guys were so distant. I won't say anything more, lest you think I have something else in mind."

Zhu Chong laughed and said, "Nephew, I guess some people outside think you are a playboy. But in the palace and in the noble families, everyone knows what kind of person you are! The fourth brother is probably afraid that you will be suspicious, so he is being careful now!"

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhu Chong and said, "I will go and deal with Shang Bing later. He is younger than me and cannot beat me."

"It is natural for an elder brother to discipline his younger brother. How can we interfere when you two brothers are fighting?" Zhu Chong said nonchalantly, "If you are too busy with schoolwork, just leave it to him. He likes to study."

Zhu Di said unhappily, "Second brother, my Gao Chi is the most knowledgeable!"

Zhu Yunhuan immediately said, "That's easy! I'll let them all help with my homework. I'll take the homework of the one who does the best and report it to my grandfather. I think you've thought it through. I won't get scolded, and they can improve their knowledge."

Zhu Chong and others naturally would not take Zhu Yunhuan's joke seriously.

But I couldn't help but sigh in my heart, this is not the mentality of a thirteen-year-old boy!
After a few simple greetings, Zhu Yunhuan left the Central Army Commandery.

Zhu Yunhuan, whose treatment was improved, was not stopped when he entered the Wuying Palace. This was definitely the treatment that Zhu Yunwen had always dreamed of.

Old Zhu glanced at Zhu Yunxun and said, "What did you learn?"

"I said I read The Art of War several times, and Li Jiujiang was talking about strategizing," Zhu Yunhuan replied. "I think it's very interesting. It's important to be cautious when comparing the enemy's and our own conditions and estimating the outcome of a war."

Lao Zhu nodded and asked, "Do you know why we want you to go there?"

"I'm afraid they'll think too much, thinking that what happened yesterday has left them with some thoughts." Zhu Yunhuan said what he was thinking, "Another thing is, besides comforting them, they are also the right-hand men that my grandfather left for me."

As Zhu reviewed the memorials, he said, "You have those thoughts, but you have not taken their origins into account. Xu Huizu is the son of Xu Da, and Jiujiang is the son of Baoer. Even though I trust and value the King of Zhongshan, I often let Baoer serve as my deputy general. Remember, the military power is in your hands, otherwise you can't get anything done."

Old Zhu continued, "The King of Zhongshan is too capable and has a high prestige in the army. Whether it's Bao'er or Chang Kaiping, they are indeed capable, but we use them to check and balance the King of Zhongshan. Now there are the Duke of Ying and the Duke of Liang in the army, who can also check and balance. Jiujiang is a nobleman and a relative of the emperor. He can't pee in the same pot with those people, so you have to use them well."

Li Wenzhong was a capable fighter and a capable person, and he was considered the third most important person in the military. Zhu supported this ambitious nephew, and he also helped to restrain Xu Da and control the military power!
Zhu Yunhuan nodded. Checks and balances were indeed one of the political tactics that the emperor should master.

Old Zhu pointed to a memorial and said, "Take it back and have a look. It has 800 words. Show us what it says and what it is about. You don't need to draft an order. Learn to read the memorial first."

(End of this chapter)