Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 275 Cat Cries Mouse

"Brother, why are you here!!!"

In the corridor of Donghua Gate, when Zhu Gaoxu was crying and galloping on his horse, Meng Zhang, Ta Shi and others who were following him looked confused.

"What's wrong, Your Highness? Are you so close to that emperor?"

Ta She looked at Meng Zhang. Meng Zhang also felt a little headache, but he still explained: "You have to pretend."

"The one who is smiling the happiest right now is probably Your Highness." Xu Sheng opened his mouth, but Meng Zhang glared at him and quickly shut up.

Not long after everyone entered Chaoyang Gate, but before arriving at Donghua Gate, they heard the news that Zhu Yunwen had committed suicide in Qianqing Palace.

After hearing the news, he immediately rushed into the Donghua Gate, but saw that there were no defenders along the way, and there were palace maids and eunuchs trying to escape with the palace treasures. He immediately ordered the palace city to be sealed, and he cried all the way to the Qianqing Palace Gate. .

Hundreds of cavalry followed him and galloped through the palace, and finally arrived outside the gate of Qianqing Palace, which was still smoking, but it looked like the flames had been extinguished.

"Can brother be rescued?"

Zhu Gaoxu got off his horse and looked at the group of eunuchs kneeling on the ground. Hearing this, the group of eunuchs sobbed: "Your Majesty has..."

"Brother!!"

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he burst into tears and kicked the two eunuchs over at the same time: "If we don't go find the coffin and restrain it, how can we let the body of the emperor lie in the ruins?"

"Slave, go right now, go right now!"

Only then did several eunuchs react and quickly went to Jiyan Hall to prepare coffins, and at the same time led people to transport all the corpses out of Qianqing Palace.

There were three of them in total, and they were almost burnt beyond recognition.

Fortunately, Zhu Gaoxu followed the military doctors in Jilin City to see many corpses, and judging from the many clothing patterns remaining on the corpses, they should be Zhu Yunwen and his queen.

But he didn't know who the other one was.

"This is Li Quan, the eunuch who holds the seal."

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu didn't recognize him, a eunuch quickly explained to him. Zhu Gaoxu felt a toothache after hearing this, but he still cried and said, "Where is my nephew?"

Zhu Yunwen has a five-year-old baby named Zhu Wenkui, and Zhu Gaoxu is more concerned about his whereabouts.

"Before your majesty set himself on fire, he entrusted the prince to the queen mother. Now he is in Renshou Palace. Do you want to invite the queen mother and the prince?"

The eunuch spoke flatteringly, but Zhu Gaoxu frowned and scolded: "No, please keep an eye on them and don't let them go wrong."

Zhu Gaoxu didn't want these people to kill Lu and Zhu Wenkui because of their own cleverness, and then lay the blame on him.

He was dressed in white and very clean. It was obviously Zhu Yunwen who set himself on fire, but he was not forced to do so.

"This slave takes orders..."

The eunuch agreed, and Zhu Gaoxu nodded when he heard the words: "From today on, you will be responsible for the affairs of the palace and you will still follow the old Hongwu system. Whenever I hear you doing evil..."

"I don't dare!" the eunuch said quickly. Zhu Gaoxu also glanced at him, then turned to look at Meng Zhang, Xu Sheng and others.

"All the brothers took over the defense in the capital, while I temporarily stayed in the outer city teaching field."

"In addition, Meng Zhang, you write a "Record of Synecdotes" and arrest all the traitors who bewitched my eldest brother and caused harm to my family."

"Sent people to ask Yu Xin, the former Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, to temporarily manage the government affairs. Huang Fuba, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, was promoted to be the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Xia Yuanji, the left minister of the Ministry of Hubu, was promoted to be the minister of the Ministry of Personnel."

"Order all the soldiers and horses in Beijing to lay down their weapons and surrender, and order Jianghuai Shengyong, Ping'an, Yu Tongyuan, Wu Gao, Li Jian and others to hand over their military power and go to Beijing to do their bidding."

"I ordered Cao Guogong Li Jinglong to hand over his military power to Yi Shiha, and went south to Beijing with Anlu Marquis Wu Jie and Commander Xu Kai."

"Finally, send someone to invite my father to go south..."

"Yes!" Meng Zhang was stunned, but he still bowed and responded.

Seeing that he agreed, Zhu Gaoxu also turned around and got on his horse, no longer looking at Zhu Yunwen's body.

He didn't think that Zhu Yunwen could pull off any drama of fake death, especially if his queen faked death with others, leaving his mother and son for him.

The world has been peaceful, and now he is just waiting for his father to go south and collect the dirty water.

As for the inner city, I can't stay like this. It's safer to go to the outer city's teaching field.

While thinking, Zhu Gaoxu had already led people out of the palace city and rushed to the southern cathedral.

At the same time, the garrison generals in various cities heard that the emperor had set himself on fire, and they abandoned their weapons and surrendered.

Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai and others were organizing Xiangyong when they were arrested, but Fang Xiaoru, Bao Zhao and others were all squatting in the mansion when they were arrested.

For this group of people, Zhu Gaoxu didn't bother to see them. Anyway, he asked Meng Zhang to arrest people and seal the mansion. Except for daily food and firewood, they were basically imprisoned.

The chaos in the capital for four days was restored to its original state by the Bohai Navy in just one day.

With Zhu Gaoxu's repeated orders, even the eight Jurchen guards with little education did not dare to mess around. They only followed Meng Zhang's instructions to arrest the civil servants who came to the temple through the "recommendation system" during the Jianwen period, and the people they involved. Other officials.

There were more than 2,400 military attachés and more than 3,600 civilian officials in Beijing, and basically one-third of them were all implicated.

In addition, the merchants who dared to raise prices despite repeated orders from the Bohai Navy had their homes confiscated and punished. All the eunuchs who tried to steal items from the palace were beaten to death, and the palace maids were detained in the Jiaofang Division. Prostitute) was ordered to close the building.

For a time, the entire capital returned to peace, and a large amount of river firewood that had been intercepted by Yang Zhan upstream was transported to the capital via the Qinhuai River and sold at normal market prices.

On the first day, the people were still in danger, but as the second day began, seeing that the Bohai Navy did not cause trouble to the civilians, and the living places were all city wall archery towers or tents in the streets, the people began to boldly continue their own of livelihood.

"The treasury is indeed abundant, so it's no wonder that I feel aggrieved when the war is fought like this."

The cathedral, in the familiar courtyard.

When Zhu Gaoxu threw his Chinese book on the table in front of him, hundreds of books were already placed in front of him, and they had all been read by him.

Standing in front of him, Meng Zhang, Yang Zhan, Cui Jun, Xu Sheng, Chen Chang, Ta Shi and others were waiting for him to lecture.

Zhu Gaoxu knew that titles and other things could wait, but rewards must be given out. The Bohai Navy seldom received rewards while going south, but Zhu Gaoxu remembered them all.

"Meng Zhang, how much have I sent to my brothers?"

"Go back to Your Highness..." Meng Zhang came out with a look of shame and bowed quickly: "The land reward is about 876,000 acres, the reward is more than 860,000 guan, and the grain is 460,000 shi. In addition, there are also pensions from the brothers. There are more than 89,000 acres of farmland, and the pension ration is 46,200 shi."

"Not much." When Zhu Gaoxu heard this string of data, he didn't say much because he was wealthy.

Now he can be said to have made a fortune. Zhu Yunwen left him more than 7 million shi to store grain in Beijing, 2.64 million guan of southwest copper coins, various kinds of cloth and sundries, and hundreds of thousands of sets of armor and weapons. .

As far as the value of these things is concerned, they are worth at least eight to nine million yuan, and this is only the situation in one city in the capital.

Of course, Zhu Gaojiu did not know how much inheritance Zhu Yuanzhang left to Zhu Yunqi, but for now, as long as he can successfully take over the world, the amount that can reach Zhu Gaojiu's hands will be at least 30 million yuan.

"Did you invite Yu Xin to come out?" Zhu Gaoxu asked Meng Zhang, but Meng Zhang shook his head and said: "Yu Xin resigned and returned to Fengyang Linhuai. It will take some time."

"On the other hand, Huang Fu and Xia Yuanji heard about His Highness's appointment and did not cause any trouble. They took office honestly."

"That Xia Yuanji said that there should still be thirty to forty million shi of grain in Shuici Cang, Changping Cang, and reserve warehouses in various places, which is less than one-half of what it was before May of the 31st year of Hongwu."

"One-half?" Zhu Gaoxu was surprised, but he admired Lao Zhu's ability to survive.

But then he thought, if he had 60 to 70 million stone in grain reserves, he could advance the development of the Great Northern Wilderness by hundreds of years.

Even if the speed is not as fast as that of later generations, at least there will be a granary in Beijing in the future, and there is no need to wait for Jiangnan's "reward" meal.

"By the way, Your Highness, many merchants were arrested yesterday and a lot of property was confiscated. This is the document."

Meng Zhang handed over the booklet again, and Zhu Gaoxu took it and flipped through it.

There were many merchants who committed crimes, fifty-seven in total, and some of them were either backed by Wu Xun or some civil servants. Zhu Gaoxu still had to deal with them separately.

"The family property is temporarily confiscated, and all rewards will be distributed first, and then..."

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Yang Zhan and Cui Jun: "Cui Junqi went there personally, and together with Zheng Jun took charge of all the navy, collected merchant ships, went north along the canal, and transported half of the grain in Shuicicang to Liaodong."

"In addition, I told Sun Cheng of Dengzhou that more than half of the people in Dengzhou, Qingzhou, and Laizhou would be moved to Liaodong, and they would be given farm tools. Each family would not have to pay taxes for five years, and each person would be given six stone rations per year to clear up wasteland. All the land cleared would be written A good land title belongs to the parties involved.”

"Yes!" Cui Jun immediately bowed excitedly when he heard that Zhu Gaoxu wanted to develop Liaodong.

Not many people here are fools. Liaodong, Bohai, and Daning are their home bases, so they naturally have to operate well.

"In addition, the families of the meritorious soldiers will be moved to the three states of Denglai and Qingzhou. In addition to the farmland, each family will be given another 100 acres of mature land!"

Zhu Gaoxu wanted to make use of the Bohai Sea and assimilate the Jurchens.

The best way to assimilate small ethnic groups is to change the local population structure.

The three prefectures of Denglai and Qingdao have nearly 15 million acres of cultivated land and a population of more than 2 million.

After millions of people from Shandong were moved to Liaodong, there would still be a population of millions in the area, enough to assimilate more than 200,000 Jurchens.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness!!"

Hearing this, Ta Shi and others knelt down and bowed.

They were ecstatic. After all, they knew very well what the fields in Shandong looked like. If they were cultivated more carefully, they could produce one and a half grains per mu.

The output of one hundred acres of cultivated land is enough for a family of more than ten Jurchens to live a prodigal life.

"What's this? Get up."

Zhu Gaoxu raised his hand to signal them to get up, and Ta Shi and the others couldn't hide their excitement as they got up.

Looking at them getting up, Zhu Gaoxu continued: "You are all heroes, and so are the brothers in Bohai."

"Whether it's Jurchens, Hans, or Mongols, you are all my brothers."

"Appreciating the fields is just the beginning. There will be more to come when my father goes south."

"Your title is no worse than others, and the brothers under your command will also have hereditary military positions. I want the brothers in Bohai to retire with me in the Ming Dynasty!"

"Your Highness, your grace!!" After hearing Zhu Gaoxu's words, everyone knew that the matter was stable.

Why are the children of Huaixi so desperate? To put it bluntly, Zhu Yuanzhang really got the four words of "resting with the country."

Now this treatment will also fall on them. "Everyone, please stand down and hurry up and get the "Record of Renchen", but don't kill anyone. At least we don't kill anyone."

Zhu Gaoxu reminded everyone and turned his attention to Yang Zhan.

Everyone knew that this was the intention for Yang Zhan to stay, so they all left, but Yang Zhan stayed.

"Sit yourself down."

Watching the others leave, Zhu Gaoxu smiled and spoke to Yang Zhan. Yang Zhan also nodded and sat on a chair, looking at the yard where he once lived.

"Write a few letters and ask Fu Rang and Yang Wen to bring Lin Su and Zhang Chun to the capital."

If Zhu Gaoxu wants to stabilize his position in Jiangnan, he must continue to recruit people to join his team.

When Yang Zhan heard this, he did not answer directly, but carefully probed: "Recently, the brothers said that your highness has no intention of becoming the emperor?"

"Fucking fart!" Zhu Gaoxu laughed and cursed: "Just because I don't want to be emperor now, doesn't mean I won't do it in the future."

"Why not? Your achievements are completely sufficient." Yang Zhan frowned, but Zhu Gaoxu said: "It is not good to be an emperor too young."

"Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, became emperor at the age of twenty-eight, but was 'imprisoned' by the government in Chang'an for nineteen years before he was able to personally lead an army in a battle."

"I am only twenty-one today. If I am imprisoned in the capital for nineteen years with trivial government affairs, I will be forty in nineteen years."

"I have to keep an eye on places like Liaodong, Hetao, Bohai, and Modong myself, so living in the capital is not in line with my philosophy."

Zhu Gaoxu was honest with Yang Zhan about his thoughts. After all, the Ming Dynasty was messed up by Zhu Yunwen, and it would take at least three to five years to sort it out.

But the question is, if I become emperor for three to five years, who will I leave the development of the Bohai Sea to?

There are also Modong, Liaodong, Hetao...

Only by completely controlling the Northeast and then establishing farming in Modong can we achieve long-term suppression of the grassland nomads.

Not to mention the Loop, Zhu Di failed to solve many things well, but he could solve them himself, so he must solve them now.

As long as he secures military power, his position will be stable.

The emperor's position will be temporarily occupied by Zhu Di. Anyway, it will be his own in the future, so there is no need to make too many enemies.

When things came to this, Zhu Gaoxu didn't believe that his eldest brother dared to compete with him for position.

"Your Highness, aren't you afraid of disagreeing with His Highness King Yan?"

Yang Zhan asked him curious questions, but Zhu Gaoxu smiled heartily: "Haha... I know all about my father's thoughts. I also understand how he wants to govern the world. At least there is no conflict with me."

Zhu Gaoxu was not joking. What Zhu Di wanted to do was already crazy enough in the eyes of people of this era, but what Zhu Gaoxu wanted to do would be even crazier.

Zhu Di wanted to compile a "Yongle Dadian", and he had to make dozens of rubbings.

Zhu Di wanted Zheng He to sail to the West and establish a huge vassal system that had never been seen in ancient times. Zhu Gaoxu not only wanted to establish it, but also built overseas capitals in various places to manage shipping and waterways and facilitate taxation.

Zhu Di wanted to conquer Mongolia, while Zhu Gaoxu wanted to completely integrate Mongolia.

Zhu Di wanted to divide Uzbekistan and increase economic control based on Zhu Yuanzhang's tea-horse economy, but Zhu Gaoxu wanted to ascend to Lhasa, station troops, collect taxes, and separate politics and religion.

Zhu Di wanted to use the Seven Guards of Guanxi to control Hami, but Zhu Gaoxu's ambition was the Western Region.

It can be said that Zhu Gaoxu also wants to do what Zhu Di wants to do, and Zhu Gaoxu dares to do what Zhu Di doesn't want to do.

There is no problem with the political philosophy of the father and son. As long as they cooperate well, they may be able to create a glorious era in which three generations of their father and grandson will prosper.

Zhu Gaoxu was so proud that he would not worry about Zhu Di going against him.

"Since His Highness is not worried, then the general will not be worried either."

"The general just lamented that in the face of the throne, many fathers, sons and brothers have fought to death in the past and present, but His Highness... haha."

Yang Zhan saw that Zhu Gaoxu was so confident. Although he felt that overconfidence was not good, he still chose to believe in Zhu Gaoxu.

"My father and son are close, so this won't happen."

Zhu Gaoxu was ashamed. The relationship between father and son in the old Zhu family was indeed harmonious, but the relationship between uncle and nephew was not good.

"Your Highness!"

Suddenly, shouts were heard outside the hospital. Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and saw Xu Sheng running back again.

"What's the matter?" Zhu Gaoxu was confused, but Xu Sheng wiped his sweat and said, "Your uncles want to see you, do you want to meet them?"

"Who?"

"The King of Qi, the King of Liao, the King of Min..."

"No!" When Zhu Gaoxu heard that it was these rotten fish and shrimps, he didn't even think about seeing them.

He thought it was Zhu Yunwen who had been captured by Zhu Xi and brought back to the capital in advance. If it was Zhu Xi, he would like to meet him. After all, although Zhu Xi had done a lot of bad things, a book "Herbal for Saving Famine" could still save him. Less image.

Zhu Yunwen wanted to cut down the vassal vassal, so why not him?

The relationship is so good, but what if he is too embarrassed to do anything later? He is a thin-skinned person who does not want to see the blood of his relatives.

"Then how should I respond?" Xu Sheng spoke rashly, but Zhu Gaoxu heard this and said, "Just say that my nephew is busy with something. When they wait for their eldest brother to come to the capital, I will go find their eldest brother myself."

"Ah?" Xu Sheng had never seen his nephew with such a tone, but when he saw Zhu Gaoxu say this, he turned around and left.

After he left, Yang Zhan also stood up slowly: "Then the general will also go back to his residence and write a letter."

"You still have a mansion in the capital?" Zhu Gaoxu was surprised.

"We can't afford it in the inner city, but there is one in the outer city." Yang Zhan smiled helplessly. Zhu Gaoxu also stood up after hearing this: "Let's go, let's go, I'll go with you."

"Uh..." Yang Zhan was speechless, but couldn't stop Zhu Gaoxu from speaking. He could only get into the carriage with Zhu Gaoxu and rush towards Jiangdong Gate in the west.

But while they were doing nothing, news of Zhu Yunwen's self-immolation and Zhu Gaoxu's capture of the capital also spread to all directions.

When Sheng Yong, Ping An, Yu Tongyuan and others in Yangzhou heard about it, they all cried for Zhu Yunxu, but they still accepted the military order sent by Zhu Gaoxu.

As for the Zhili prefectures and provinces such as Jiangxi and Zhejiang, they are still waiting and watching.

Not just them, almost all the southern provinces are waiting and watching. After all, no one has ever experienced a situation where the emperor was killed in a war.

Now the emperor is not only dead, but his son is still in the hands of Zhu Gaoxu. Zhu Gaoxu is also the grandson of Emperor Taizu Gao, and he has not ascended the throne, but wants to ask King Yan to go south.

The chief ministers of the provinces were very confused by his operation. They thought Zhu Gaoxu would send people to discuss with Zhu Di who should be the emperor, but he directly asked Zhu Di to go south. Isn't this just asking Zhu Di to become the emperor?

Not to mention Zhu Di, even Wu Gao, Li Jian, and even Li Jinglong and others who got the news first found it incredible.

Faced with the temptation of the throne, Zhu Gaoxu remained indifferent and went directly north to invite Zhu Di to the south to ascend the throne.

This act alone can be called the first act of filial piety.

"What should we do now?"

Holding the decree in his hand, Li Jinglong did not behave like Sheng Yong, Wu Gao and others who cried and howled. Anyway, in his opinion, beating back and forth was the Zhu family's throne, but he did feel a little sorry for Emperor Gao's entrustment.

Not to mention whether the emperor really self-immolated or was a fake self-immolation, just because Zhu Gaoxu released the news for several days and there was no place to raise a flag to say that the emperor appeared, the emperor is probably gone.

Now that the emperor is gone, should he seek refuge with Zhu Di or go south and seek refuge with Zhu Gaoxu?

"If the Prince of Bohai County does not want to be the emperor and wants King Yan to do so, he should join King Yan and go south together."

Anlu Hou Wu Jie spoke nervously, while Xu Kai's face turned pale as if he was dissatisfied with such an open discussion between the two.

However, Li Jinglong noticed something was wrong with Xu Kai, so he said specifically: "Now that the canal is beginning to be taken over, I received news that Zhenjiang, Suzhou and other prefectures have taken refuge with the Bohai County Prince. If we don't surrender, it is possible that we will retreat to Shaanxi and support him." To establish the King of Qin?"

"Not to mention that the King of Qin has no talents and virtues, but the population in the northwest is poor and it is difficult to support my army of 200,000 and hundreds of thousands of civilians."

"If we don't go south, then when the south takes over the Suizicang along the canal, we will really be the chopping block."

"As for surrendering to the King of Yan, I have never thought about it. After all, have you ever thought that our army mainly fights against the Yan army. They hate us no more than they hate the Tatars in the north."

"If we really want to take refuge, we have the only way to go south."

Li Jinglong presented the facts. The fact was that they and the Yan army did have a deep grudge. At least 20,000 Yan soldiers died at the hands of the Southern army, and even more died at the hands of the Yan army.

In comparison, Zhu Gaoxu's method of blitzing the entire Liao Dynasty and then the capital did not lead to conflicts and grudges with other armies.

From the time the Bohai Navy landed in Dengzhou until now, not even three thousand people have died. This result can completely stand out among the heroes.

The only people who can make Bohai hate may be Wu Gao, Liu Zhen, and Geng Feng.

In the absence of any grudges, it would be the best solution to take the lead and go south to seek refuge with Zhu Gaoxu.

"If you two have no objections, I will write a handwritten letter and tell the Prince of Bohai County what I think."

Li Jinglong said he was asking the two of them, but he kept looking at Xu Kai.

However, from the time he started writing to the time he finished writing, Xu Kai remained silent. It was not until Li Jinglong sent someone to send the letter away that Xu Kai bowed and walked out of the camp.

However, before Li Jinglong could breathe a sigh of relief, the sound of horse hooves came from outside the tent.

Not long after, Tang Qi walked into the tent, bowed his hands and said:

"My lord, there are soldiers and horses from Bohai in the east. This is a letter sent by the leader Yi Shiha."

"Did he even expect that I had to vote for him?" Li Jinglong frowned slightly, feeling that Zhu Gaoxu seemed to have figured out all their generals.

After receiving the letter, Li Jinglong opened it and read ten lines. Sure enough, the main content was about surrender, and the reasons were similar to what Li Jinglong told Xu Kai and Wu Jie just now.

After Li Jinglong read it, he felt that it was a good thing that he did not fight Zhu Gaoxu, otherwise he would have suffered a big loss based on his understanding of him.

He closed the letter, stood up slowly, looked at the Tangqi and said:

"Please Yi Zhangyin and lead your troops to come forward, I will surrender..."

　The normal update time should be restored tomorrow, with one update at 11:00 and 11:30.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)