Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 564: Many parties sing
"Lie down?"

"It's not okay to lie down. Wang Wanzhe and the others don't dare to lie to Grandpa."

"Then just sit down."

"Wouldn't it be too arrogant if I sat down?"

"Then I stand?"

"Standing seems to be pretty good..."

"Ok?"

In the Hami Palace, Zhu Di and Zhu Qiyue were discussing guiltily. It was obvious that they already knew that Zhu Gaoxu had come to Hami.

The two discussed for a long time before Zhu Di realized, "No, I'm the boss, why should I be afraid of him?"

After he finished speaking, he touched his beard with one hand and glanced at Zhu Qiyue:
"You are still young, he won't hit you..."

"Grandfather, you can't let me take responsibility for this." Zhu Qiyue was very smart. He knew that Zhu Di wanted him to take the blame just by hearing Zhu Di's few words.

"My shoulders can't bear this kind of thing."

"If you let me worry, I'll have to drag you down with me."

"You little brat!" Zhu Di's eyes widened upon hearing this: "Are you rebelling?"

"My life is also a life," Zhu Qiyue said in a low voice. Before he could take the next step, the sound of singing a ceremony came from outside the hall.

"His Majesty is here in person!"

"Long live Long live Long live……"

"Long live your Majesty!"

The slightly excited singing of the salute was enough to show how high Zhu Gaoxu's status was in the army.

The current Yanshan Guards are basically guards who were born after the 30th year of Hongwu.

Because of this, they basically spent their teenage years during the Yongle period, and everyone in the court and the country knew who was implementing the new policies during the Yongle period.

If it was the Yanshan Guard during Zhu Neng's period, the guards would definitely follow Zhu Di's lead.

However, it is now the sixteenth year of Hongxi, and the person they respect most is undoubtedly the Hongxi Emperor who assisted and created the Yongle prosperous era and the Hongxi era.

Even though they were guards of Yanshan Guards and could only see the emperor a few times throughout the year, they were naturally excited to be able to see him up close.

As the sound of footsteps rang out in batches, Zhu Di and Zhu Qiyue's hearts unconsciously rose to their throats.

As Zhu Gaoxu's figure appeared in their sight, they believed that he had actually come all the way from Beijing to this distant Western Region.

"Stop now."

With just these few words, all the guards of Jilin Guard and Yanshan Guard stopped. Hu Ji, Liu Mian and Xia Yuanji wanted to follow, but were stopped by Zhu Gaoxu's eyes.

He walked into the hall, and it was easy to see from the expression on his face that he was angry at the moment.

"Ahem...Second brother, why are you here?"

Zhu Di was still able to talk calmly with Zhu Gaoxu, but Zhu Qiyue cunningly moved behind Zhu Di, exposing Zhu Di to Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu did not care about this kid, but gradually calmed down after seeing Zhu Di's healthy appearance.

He was really worried that Zhu Di was seriously ill, but now it seems that everyone was just deceived.

"Dad, pack up. We will return to Beijing tomorrow."

After all, he was still angry, and there were indeed many government affairs in the palace that needed his leadership, so he had to go back.

However, in response to his words, Zhu Di said firmly: "No!"

"Huh?" Zhu Di's words not only surprised Zhu Gaoxu, but even Zhu Qiyue, who was hiding behind him, stuck his head out and looked at his face in surprise.

The old man wasn't like this just now, why did he suddenly become so tough?

Ignoring Zhu Qiyue's gaze, Zhu Di crossed his arms and said, "I am already seventy-four years old, and I don't know how many years I have left to live. This time, the Han people will not use troops to attack the Western Regions for the first time in six hundred years. How can I miss such an important event?"

Zhu Di's words stood on the commanding heights both in terms of morality and nationality, and were impeccable.

Indeed, since the fall of Anxi Protectorate, the Han army has not set foot on the land of the Western Regions for six hundred years.

The imperial court finally gained control of Hami during the Yongle period, and this was only a corner of the Western Regions.

From the founding of the Ming Dynasty to the present day, although the territory has long exceeded that of the Han and Tang Dynasties, the governance in the northwest is still not as good as that of the Han and Tang Dynasties.

But if Yilibali is destroyed and recovered, and the Ming army is stationed in the Yangyi area in the east of Talas, that would be truly far beyond the Han and Tang dynasties.

However, it is a bit too far-fetched to use this as an excuse.

Zhu Di was the emperor emeritus, and it didn't matter where he looked. In the final analysis, he still wanted to go to the battlefield and fight.

"If you go to the battlefield again, your son can't bear it."

Zhu Gaoxu spoke in silence, but Zhu Di said, "It is better to be heroic than to live two more years."

"A man should either die in a temple or on horseback. I cannot accept dying in a cowardly way on a sickbed surrounded by crying and sobbing."

Zhu Di really couldn't accept that he would be lying on the bed before his death, motionless, surrounded by the sound of his children and grandchildren crying.

He felt cowardly to die like that, so if he had to choose between the two, he would rather die on horseback.

"Grandfather, didn't you say you wouldn't fight on the battlefield?"

Zhu Qiyue was also confused by Zhu Di's words. Zhu Di never said from beginning to end that he was going to the battlefield. Zhu Qiyue always thought that his great-grandfather was sitting on the front line commanding the battle. Now he was going to go to the battlefield in person?
"My boy, let me teach you another lesson. If you want to achieve great things, you must not speak out about the things you did not do, or else people will laugh at you."

Zhu Di was not shy at all. From his son to his grandson, three generations were deceived by him.

Only Zhu Gaoxu understood him, otherwise Zhu Qiyue would probably have discovered that his 3,000 Yanshan Guard cavalry had been taken away by his great-grandfather before he even went to the battlefield.

"You don't even listen to me?"

Zhu Gaoxu frowned and was slightly angry.

Zhu Qiyue was still shocked to see his grandfather so angry, so he immediately retreated behind Zhu Di and hid.

Zhu Di's mouth was dry and he was a little afraid of his second son, but he still gritted his teeth and threw a tantrum: "Why, are you going to hit me, your father?"

As he spoke, he turned and walked to the main seat, picked up a sword from the shelf, pulled it out and threw it directly to the ground.

The clanging sound of the long sword falling to the ground echoed in the hall, and Zhu Di put his hands on his waist, looking like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water.

"Come, pick up the sword and give it to me, your father."

Before Zhu Di finished speaking, Zhu Gaoxu bent down and picked up the sword, making Zhu Di a little embarrassed.

Fortunately, Zhu Gaoxu did not really strike him with the sword. He just put the sword back into the scabbard with a complicated expression: "Why are you doing this?"

"Either give me a sword, or let me stay here, and you go back to your Beijing and be your emperor."

Zhu Di breathed a sigh of relief and shouted, "I am the retired emperor. What I want to do depends on your mood. So am I the crown prince or the retired emperor? Are you the father or am I the father?"

In order to fight a war in the Western Regions, Zhu Di shamelessly said anything.

"You are the father, and I am the son..."

Zhu Gaoxu was helpless. Seeing this, Zhu Di said directly: "Son, don't mind my business. Even if you don't let me fight in the Western Regions and don't let the Yanshan Guards accompany me, I will fight this battle alone."

Zhu Di was sure that Zhu Gaoxu would never attack him. As long as Zhu Gaoxu did not attack him, no one else would dare to attack him.

"If you are not afraid of losing face, have someone take your father and me back to Beijing and let everyone in the world see how you treat your father and me."

In order to achieve his goal, Zhu Di was not afraid of saying anything that would hurt Zhu Gaoxu's feelings. After all, he only had a few years left to live.

He dared to say these words, but Zhu Qiyue didn't dare to listen. He could only look at his grandfather cautiously.

Seeing that his grandfather looked normal, but with a slightly complicated look in his eyes, Zhu Qiyue couldn't help but admire his grandfather.

If I dare to say these words to my father, he will definitely hang me up and beat me.

"Put out the sand table."

Zhu Gaoxu sighed, and Zhu Di immediately smiled and ordered Zhu Qiyue beside him: "Go, didn't you hear your grandfather say to set up a sand table?"

"Ah? Oh!" Zhu Qiyue was tortured by these two people. He hurried to the side hall and took a few eunuchs to bring out the sand tables in batches and finally put them together.

The sand table also contains various flags arranged by Zhu Di, as well as wooden sculptures of soldiers from various teams.

There are numbers written on the back of the wood carving, representing the military strength.

With just one glance, Zhu Gaoxu understood Zhu Di's thoughts.

However, in response to his words, Zhu Gaoxu directly picked up the flag and neatly inserted it into the mountainous terrain in the north of the Yanqi Basin.

"What are you doing? There are mountains over there!"

Zhu Di was anxious, but it was normal for him to be anxious because according to the intelligence obtained by the Western Factory, this place was indeed a river valley and mountainous area, so he had never thought of marching from here.

However, Zhu Gaoxu was different. He had walked this road in his previous life, and this road was indeed long and narrow, with more than 160 miles of mountain road. There was only one town and a dozen villages within a radius of nearly a thousand miles.

Zhu Gaoxu remembered that it was around 1890 that local forces built a Yellow Temple in this mountainous area.

It was not until the founding of the country in later generations that several districts appeared in this area.

This has been the case in later generations, not to mention this era.

“There is a river here that can be followed along the valley into the Yilibali Valley.”

Zhu Gaoxu's words made Zhu Di's eyes widen. He quickly came forward and asked, "What's the latest news from the Western Factory?"

"Well," Zhu Gaoxu did not refute, but directly said: "This road is about 160 miles to get out of the mountainous area and enter the Yilibali River Valley."

"But this road is only a hundred feet wide and a few feet narrow. It is very easy to be ambushed, and it is not easy to get supplies."

As soon as Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, Zhu Di's eyes lit up: "Then send two regular troops to the northern and southern borders respectively, attract their forces in the southern and northern borders, and then send a surprise force through the mountain road into the river valley and directly capture this rich river valley!"

"After we take over this valley and repair the mountain road, we can rely on the food and grass seized from the valley to support the Southern Army's supply. At the same time, when the Northern Army takes a detour to the west side of the valley, we can directly transport food and grass to them!"

Once the topic of war came up, Zhu Di's mind became active again.

Just by knowing a valley road, Zhu Di made clear arrangements for the subsequent food and fodder for the northern and southern armies.

"The railway cannot be built because the technology is not up to standard. We can only go to the south." Zhu Gaoxu pointed to the route from Turpan to Tiemenguan and his finger circled to the south. This was different from the southern Xinjiang railway route in later generations.

The Southern Xinjiang Railway of later generations passed through this mountainous area, but its construction was started and completed in the 1970s. The Ming Dynasty did not have such technology at that time, so it could only choose the south, which was more expensive but had simpler technology.

"It's almost 700 miles, and it will take at least two and a half years to open to traffic."

As Zhu Gaoxu said this, he placed his hand between Turpan and Lou Zengmu.

"This place is about 150 miles uphill from Turpan Lou Zengmu, and after reaching the former Mohe City (Dabancheng), it goes up and down to Lou Zengmu."

"There is a gorge of nearly 20 miles in the middle of the mountainous area, which is very easy to set up an ambush and difficult to transport artillery."

"But..." Zhu Gaoxu placed his hand on the northern part of the railway.

"Between Turpan and Hami, where our army's railway is located, to the north is a low-lying area of ​​the Eastern Tianshan Mountains. A march of 150 miles is enough to reach the northern foot of the Eastern Tianshan Mountains."

"Only herders of the Western Tartars grazed their livestock here, and a hundred miles to the west was Pulei County (Mulei) in Tingzhou during the Tang Dynasty."

"It's about 600 miles from here to Lou Zengmu, and this road is passable by horses."

"Our army has built a city in Pulehai (Balikun) in the north, which is 300 miles away from here. Now we have to urgently send the local soldiers and horses to transport 20 field artillery pieces to Pulehai at a distance of 800 miles. It will arrive in 7 days at most, and it will take about 20 days to reach Lou Zengmu."

"At that time, we will dispatch cavalry along the center line to make a detour to the back, bypass Lou Zengmu, and block the entrance to Mohecheng Gorge."

"Once the Western Tartars know that the gorge is cut off, they will certainly come back to reinforce and attack. Our cavalry will surprise the Western Tartars and send cavalry to cut off their retreat to the Iron Gate Pass. In this way, we can keep these 40,000 Western Tartar cavalry."

After several analyses by Zhu Gaoxu, a battle of encirclement and annihilation appeared on the sand table.

Zhu Di was not surprised because he felt that his second son was always as good as him in fighting, but Zhu Qiyue was dumbfounded.

When fighting encirclement and annihilation battles over a distance of hundreds or thousands of miles, the control of the local terrain and hydrology, as well as the marching speed and combat effectiveness of one's own side, are all very appropriate.

"Does Xilu know these routes?"

Zhu Di asked Zhu Gaoxu, who nodded: "I know, but they dare not divide their troops to garrison, and they don't think we will know."

“Even if they knew we knew, they wouldn’t think we would send troops from these places.”

"Because even if we use light cavalry to bypass Lou Zengmu and block the entrance to Mohecheng Gorge, we will still face a problem."

Zhu Gaoxu took a breath and continued:
"The light cavalry will bypass Lou Zengmu and cut off the entrance to Mohecheng Gorge. This is at least 900 miles away."

"Even if one man in our army has three horses, they can only carry half a month's worth of food."

"We will reach the entrance of Mohecheng Gorge in ten days, and we will run out of food in five days."

"So our regular troops must encircle and annihilate the Western Tartar cavalry within five days, otherwise the Western Tartar can easily break through the Mohe City Gorge while our light cavalry is out of food."

Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, and Zhu Di chuckled: "Five days? Three days will be enough."

Zhu Di was confident in himself and believed that three days would be enough for him to encircle and annihilate these 40,000 Western Tartar cavalry.

As long as these 40,000 Western Tartar cavalry are completely wiped out, the entire Yilibali will be in the hands of the Ming Dynasty.

"Grandpa, I want to ask for permission to go to the entrance of Mohe City!"

Zhu Qiyue did jump out at the right time, but before Zhu Gaoxu could speak, Zhu Di rejected it, saying, "This place is too dangerous. You have no experience in leading troops. You are not needed here."

"I'll give you two thousand cavalrymen. Once the battle starts, cut off the escape route of the Western Tartars to Tiemenguan Pass!"

"I..." Zhu Qiyue was a little unconvinced when he heard Zhu Di's words, but before he could speak, Zhu Gaoxu looked at him.

"I understand."

Zhu Qiyue was so angry that his teeth were itching, but there was nothing he could do as he was now just a crown prince, not a prince or emperor.

"When I become emperor, I will make my own decisions."

Zhu Qiyue thought angrily and was almost about to howl.

But back to reality, he still had to lead two thousand cavalry to provide support, and he had no chance against either the regular troops or the special forces.

"The regular troops are under the command of Zhu Neng, and the special forces are under the command of Chen Mao."

"We can't have too many surprise troops. Too many will let people know what's going on. My Jilin Guards have a number of troops that the Western Tartars haven't been able to detect. So let Chen Mao lead my Jilin Guards as surprise troops and we'll move out tomorrow."

"In the main force direction, Zhu Neng's 30,000 main forces and 40,000 auxiliary forces will continue to stalemate. As long as we buy ten days, it will be enough time for Chen Mao to attack them from behind."

Zhu Gaoxu made the final arrangements, and Zhu Di nodded in agreement, but soon reacted:
"No, Second Brother, why are you commanding this battle?"

Zhu Di realized it later. You know, it was he who wanted to fight this battle, but now he was being dictated by Zhu Gaoxu. It would be strange if he was not depressed.

"Then do you have any better idea?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked Zhu Di in return, and Zhu Di stroked his beard and said, "You have said everything I wanted to say. You and I have exactly the same idea."

“…” Zhu Qiyue admired his great-grandfather a little, but what he admired was not his means and abilities, but his thick skin.

"Let's do it this way." Zhu Di was very proud of himself. Seeing this, Zhu Qiyue immediately went to express his doubts.

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di did not stop him. Due to the fatigue from the long journey, Zhu Gaoxu went to rest after the meeting, leaving Zhu Di to marvel at the sand table left by Zhu Gaoxu.

At the same time, as Zhu Gaoxu's order was issued, Zhu Neng and Chen Mao on the front line took the train back to Hami at night.

It was already early morning the next day when they arrived in Hami.

While Zhu Gaoxu was washing up, Zhu Di told them the entire plan. Neither of them had expected that Zhu Di knew so much about the Western Regions, and they all praised Zhu Di's strategy.

Zhu Qiyue, who was standing aside, was helpless to complain. His own grandfather's strategy actually became his great-grandfather's.

Fortunately, Zhu Di did not feel proud for too long, because Zhu Gaoxu had already washed up and rushed over.

"Long live your Majesty!"

"Let's talk about this matter in an equal manner."

Zhu Gaoxu walked to the sand table and saw signs that his arrangements had been changed and repaired. He knew that Zhu Di had just discussed with Zhu Neng and Chen Mao how to fight this battle.

"You all know how to fight, right?"

"Your Majesty, we have understood."

The emperor and his ministers exchanged questions. Zhu Gaoxu nodded when he heard what Zhu Di said, but then he changed Zhu Di's arrangement and said directly to Zhu Qiyue:

"I thought about it and decided that you should also gain experience. This time you will follow Chen Mao in the surprise attack on the entrance of Mohe City and serve as a thousand-household officer."

Before Zhu Qiyue could react, Zhu Gaoxu said to Chen Mao, "Once you join the army, you will be dealt with according to military law. If this kid disobeys orders, drag him out and skin him alive!"

"Yes..." Chen Mao was embarrassed, but Zhu Qiyue knelt down on one knee and bowed:

"I will definitely go to the battlefield to win merit for our Zhu family!"

Zhu Gaoxu didn't bother to pay attention to this kid, and asked directly: "Has the military order to Pu Leihai been issued?"

"Your Majesty, the message has already been sent out. It will take four days to bypass the Tianshan Mountains and reach Puleihai City. The local troops will go out to fight, and it should take twenty days to reach Lou Zengmu."

Zhu Neng bowed in reply, and Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said:
"The first battle is the decisive battle. This one battle will decide the outcome. We must defeat these 40,000 Western Tartar cavalry and recover the Han territory in the Western Regions."

"Pass the order down, anyone who dies in this battle will receive a pension of 300 strings of cash."

"In addition to the silver reward for military merit, those who participated in this battle will also receive an additional 500,000 strings of cash as a reward."

"In addition, I will integrate the weapons of the Western Tartars into Mohe City, build a bronze pillar, and write my name on it!"

"I obey your order!" Zhu Neng and Chen Mao bowed one after another. You know, Ma Yuan's saying "If the bronze pillar breaks, Jiaozhi will be destroyed" has been widely circulated for nearly 1,400 years.

Now that the emperor has ordered the construction of the bronze pillar, their great achievements in regaining the Western Regions will naturally be recorded in history books.

Who wouldn't be excited to leave their name in history?

In excitement, Zhu Neng led his troops back to the front line, while Chen Mao took over Jilin Wei with Zhu Qiyue.

After leaving 600 men to protect Zhu Gaoxu's safety, the two men set out with 5,000 Jilin guards to cross the Eastern Tianshan Mountains.

As the army set out, Xia Yuanji, sensing something was wrong, immediately came to the palace.

Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu sat in the main seats, and Zhu Qiyue had already set off.

Xia Yuanji didn't see Zhu Qiyue, so he bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, the Emperor is worth millions of gold, and the Crown Prince is also worth thousands of gold. How can you risk your life?"

"I beg your majesty and the emperor to return to the capital. Even if you don't return to the capital, you should return to Shazhou or Suzhou to wait for the victory news, not here."

It was not easy for Xia Yuanji either. He was 67 years old and still followed Zhu Di around. He finally waited for Zhu Gaoxu to come, but he saw that Zhu Gaoxu was helping Zhu Di, which made him feel very unhappy.

Facing his plea, Zhu Gaoxu also felt very troubled, so he said: "This victory is in our hands, there will be no danger, you can rest assured."

"But the Ming Dynasty cannot be without the Emperor, and even more so, it cannot be without Your Majesty. Even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance of danger, Your Majesty should take the Emperor with him and evacuate."

"I have heard that you will go to the front line with the Emperor."

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being blunt, but you shouldn't do this..."

Xia Yuanji's voice was sad, and both Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di felt uncomfortable with what he said.

Originally, he was enough, but Zhu Gaoxu seemed to have forgotten that there was another troublesome person in Hami City.

"Your Majesty! I want to see Your Majesty!"

"His Majesty!"

The noise came from outside the palace. Zhu Gaoxu didn't take it seriously, but Zhu Di asked, "Who is it?"

"Reporting to the Emperor, it was Yu Qian, the co-governor of Hami Prefecture."

"Send him in!"

Liu Mian responded, but before Zhu Gaoxu could react and stop him, he saw that Zhu Di had already given the order.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't stop them, and Yu Qian was brought in front of them after a few breaths.

This was the first time Zhu Gaoxu met Yu Qian. He was wearing the official robe of a fifth-rank Tongzhi. He had quite angular features and was not handsome, but just ordinary in appearance.

He was about thirty years old, and when he saw Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di, he bowed and saluted:
"Your Majesty, Yu Qian, the co-governor of Hami Prefecture, is here to advise you to curb your bellicosity and not to risk your life and put the Ming Dynasty in danger!"

(End of this chapter)