Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 133 I, Zhu Di, don’t understand military affairs?!

Sunset.

There are crowds of people in the southwest corner of Peking.

Xia Zhibai stepped onto the wooden stool and got off the carriage.

He was wearing a gray shirt, his eyes were bright, but his body was a little thin.

He was accompanied by very few people, including a boy of about thirteen or fourteen years old and people arranged by the post station.

Zhu Di looked him up and down, somewhat disappointed, with a bit of contempt on his face. He held the horse whip and said, "Are you Xia Zhibai? This year's new number one scholar?"

Xia Zhibai raised his head and looked at the man riding on the tall horse. The man was not very old, but due to the baptism of wind and sand, he looked a little more vicissitudes than his peers, and his eyes were full of iron blood and pride.

Xia Zhibai bowed and said, "Xia Zhibai greets His Royal Highness Prince Yan."

Zhu Di snorted coldly, narrowed his eyes, pointed forward, and sneered: "Did you just say that I, Zhu Di, am worthy of the name?"

"hehe."

"Then let me show you what the real Zhu Di is like. He can command the army on horseback and herd the people on foot. He is good at both civil and military affairs, and I do it much better than you scholars." Zhu Di rode his horse to the front.

He was born with a spirit of not admitting defeat, a spirit of "no one else can do it better than me", and a spirit of perseverance.

He doesn't like being denied.

"To command the army?" A strange look appeared on Xia Zhibai's face.

Zhu Di showed some displeasure on his face. He looked at Qiu Fu and Zhang Yu on the side, hesitated for a moment, and said directly: "Come here, arrest Qiu Fu, Zhang Yu and others, as well as all those who disturbed the people just now, all of them will be punished with twenty military sticks."

"Anyone who disrupts our military discipline will be punished by military law!"

Qiu Fu's face changed slightly.

But when he saw Zhu Di's eyes, which were intimidating without anger, he dared not show any dissatisfaction anymore. He nodded in agreement and obediently went to receive the military stick.

Zhu Di rode his horse in front and came to the front of the army.

dong dong dong.

The drumbeats are still echoing.

The space between heaven and earth was filled with a murderous aura.

A man and a horse, just standing there, with an air of looking down on the world.

The sword that had accompanied him in battles for nearly ten years seemed to feel the fighting spirit when it heard the beating of the war drums. It trembled slightly under the drumbeats, as if it wanted to break free from the constraints of the scabbard and show its unparalleled edge.

In the majestic square formation, the light cavalry that appeared earlier have all left the stage, followed by a louder roar.

It is more powerful than the light cavalry in front.

The earth is shaking.

It was a heavy cavalry battalion armed to the teeth.

Even the horses were covered in armor.

"Array."

Zhu Di shouted loudly.

The heavy cavalry battalion split up instantly. Unlike the goose-shaped formation just now, this time the square formation became a cone, like a spear lying across the ground, with an indomitable momentum. As long as the general gave the order, everything that stood in the way would be torn apart.

now.

This team of heavy cavalry was facing Xia Zhibai.

Zhu Di turned his head and gently stroked the goose-wing knife with a smile on his face, wanting to see what Xia Zhibai's expression would be when facing the overwhelming and powerful heavy cavalry charge.

It just surprised Zhu Di a little.

Xia Zhibai stood with his hands behind his back, his face very calm.

There was no sense of tremor.

Zhu Di frowned, showing some surprise.

For ordinary people, seeing this magnificent scene, it would be great if they did not tremble with fear. Worse still, there were some who were frightened to tears, fainted, or even peed themselves. However, Xia Zhibai, a weak scholar, remained calm in the face of the heavy cavalry's charge.

This is rare.

Zhu Di then snorted coldly. He didn't think Xia Zhibai was not shocked. It was very likely that he was scared to death, so he didn't react at all.

Zhu Di rode his horse back.

"Xia Zhibai, I'll give you another chance. How about I, Zhu Di, command the army?" Zhu Di's gaze swept over Xia Zhibai, his eyes full of teasing and expectation.

Xia Zhibai calmly withdrew his gaze.

Just shook his head.

He sighed softly and said with emotion: "Hongwu, Hongwu, the world is full of martial arts."

"Your Majesty has established the 'Hongwu' regime with the goal of restoring the bravery of the Han Chinese. However, the Ming Dynasty has only been established for eighteen years, and its military might has already declined to this point."

“It’s really sad.”

"Your Highness wants to ask about the military situation."

"To be honest, Your Highness is far inferior to Your Majesty, and far inferior."

"The elite troops of the Ming Dynasty, in the hands of Your Majesty, were able to suppress rebellions and destroy the strong, and establish the empire in fifteen years. They were able to exonerate the evil and wipe out the evil in China, and avenge China's hatred and shame. However, the aura of the Ming army that swallowed up the mountains and rivers is no longer seen."

"The elite troops of the Ming Dynasty, in the hands of Your Highness, have become a group of people who can only wave flags and cheer."

"How sad it is that the Ming army has declined to this point."

"Your Highness, you were born in an imperial family. You are more suitable to be a poet or a hedonistic prince in your fiefdom. You should not be involved in military affairs."

After listening to Xia Zhibai's words, Zhu Di's face turned completely dark.

He stared at Xia Zhibai intently, a fierce look flashed in his eyes, and he asked with a strange expression: "What did you say?"

"You said that I, Zhu Di, am not fit to lead troops in battle?"

Zhu Di was stunned for a moment, but then he didn't get angry. Instead, he wanted to laugh. He looked at the soldiers around him and said with a smile, "I, Zhu Di, joined the army at the age of fifteen. I followed General Chang Yuchun into battle. I escaped death many times and killed the enemy and captured the flag many times. How dare you, a scholar who has never even killed a chicken, evaluate me?"

"I'm still unworthy?"

"If I, Zhu Di, am not worthy, then few in the world are." "I thought you were extraordinary as the top scholar, but now it seems that you are just so-so. Since you like to pretend to be cultured, why did you come to Beiping? Beiping is not a good place. It is the gate of our Ming Dynasty."

"People will die here!"

As soon as Zhu Di said this, the soldiers around him burst into laughter.

The laughter was full of mockery and disdain.

Xia Zhibai had a calm expression, not affected at all, and said calmly: "Your Highness, do you think what I said is wrong?"

Zhu Di looked strange and asked, "Do you really think you are right?"

"I think my evaluation of Your Highness is very fair. Your Highness does not have the ability to command troops, at least not yet." Xia Zhibai replied calmly, his tone still very flat, and he did not think that what he said was wrong.

Zhu Di's smile disappeared and a hint of anger appeared on his face.

This time, his expression became much more serious, and he stared at Xia Zhibai with his eyes and said, "I'll ask you to say it again, whether I, Zhu Di, am suitable for commanding troops!"

"Not suitable." Xia Zhibai shook his head.

"Do you really think I dare not kill you? Not to mention that you are the top scholar, even if you are a court minister, His Majesty will not really do anything to me if I, Zhu Di, kill you." Zhu Di looked at Xia Zhibai with murderous intent.

Xia Zhibai nodded and said, "Your Highness is right."

"Because your highness is the Prince of Yan, the son of your majesty, and comes from an imperial family."

"I was born with the power of life and death."

"But it was Your Highness who insisted that I evaluate you. I only evaluated your true ability. If Your Highness were to take away your status as a prince, how many of your proud military exploits would be truly recognized?"

"Military achievements such as being the vanguard, the first to ascend the mountain, and beheading the flag are indeed admirable."

"If we really judge the merits and rewards for your military achievements on the battlefield, where would your Highness be ranked?"

"From ancient times to the present, has there ever been a natural born commander?"

"Have."

"And quite a few."

"Let's not talk about the Han and Tang dynasties which are too far away. The Ming Dynasty itself has natural military talents like Li Wenzhong, and of course the current emperor is also among them."

"True natural talents in generals and commanders will not be affected by the mundane world. Just give them a few chances and they will quickly stand out."

"Your Highness joined the army at the age of fifteen. Now he is twenty-five, but he is still 'lukewarm' in the military. This is because Your Highness is the son of His Majesty and has been given great favors and opportunities. Even so, Your Highness is still not qualified to be independent."

“This is actually quite telling.”

"Is there anyone in the world who can grow up to be a commander-in-chief?"

"Of course there are."

"It's just that His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan can't feel it now."

"I don't think Your Highness is suitable for commanding the army. Your Highness has always been too smooth sailing. Because of his background, he is born to be tolerated by the generals in the army. He is very rough in commanding the army, training the soldiers, or making overall plans. He is just a 'reckless man' who only knows how to charge into battle."

"How can such a person be qualified to be the commander-in-chief?"

"Now that Your Majesty is in the palace, General Xu Da has passed away, and the Northern Yuan generals have withered, and many Ming generals have passed away, this has created the situation of 'no generals in Shu, Liao Hua is the vanguard'. But if we really talk about training and managing the army, Your Highness is indeed incapable of it."

Xia Zhibai didn't give in at all.

The current Zhu Di is indeed unable to act on his own.

Although many people in later generations compared Zhu Di with Li Shimin, there was actually a huge gap between the two. Zhu Di, to some extent, was just a smaller version of Zhu Yuanzhang. In terms of military alone, Zhu Yuanzhang could hardly surpass Li Shimin, let alone Zhu Di, who was even smaller.

Zhu Di's face was gloomy and he clenched his knife-holding hand.

He had murderous intentions.

This is the first time since I was a child that someone has said this to me.

Or in the military, which he is most proud of.

He has always privately compared himself with Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, and he does not think that he is worse than Li Shimin, but he just has not had as many opportunities to show it. But now, Xia Zhibai directly exposed that it was not the case at all.

He just doesn't have the ability.

At least his father didn't approve of it.

Zhu Di took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and coldly scanned Xia Zhibai's body, saying, "Xia Zhibai, you are indeed a silver tongue. You can say that I, the dignified King of Yan, am worthless. You are really brave."

"But how much do you know about military affairs?"

"Do you think that just because you have read a few military books, studied some military tactics, and understood some of the deeds of the ancients, you can speak freely in front of me?"

"When I, Zhu Di, was fighting on the battlefield, bathing in blood and killing people, you were nowhere to be found."

"I, Zhu Di, was so confused that I almost took it seriously."

"You don't need to judge my military ability. The response of my soldiers is the best proof."

Zhu Di drew out his goose-wing knife and shouted, "My men, some people are now questioning me, the King of Yan, for not knowing how to train and manage troops. You are my soldiers and have followed me through life and death for several years. Tell me, do I, Zhu Di, know how to train and manage troops?!"

"I want you to tell the truth."

Zhu Di's voice contained a hint of teasing and disdain.

Haha.

When Zhu Di asked this question, there was laughter all around.

All the old soldiers with white hair and beards were grinning at this moment, and some of the young soldiers were laughing so hard that they were bent over. Their laughter was unbridled, sarcastic, and full of contempt, and some even looked a bit hideous.

See this.

Zhu Di on horseback also laughed.

He held his chin with both hands and looked at Xia Zhibai provocatively.

He believed.

After hearing the voices of the soldiers below, Xia Zhibai should have realized that he was not incapable of training troops.

But he won the hearts of the soldiers.

(End of this chapter)