Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 161 Where to go?
In the south of Haozhou City, there is Huangjue Temple. This temple was first built in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was originally named Yuhuang Temple and was later renamed Huangjue Temple.

Zhu Yuanzhang, 23 years old this year, was sweeping the temple gate with a broom, his brows furrowed and his face looking worried.

In the fourth year of Zhizheng, Haozhou suffered a series of disasters, and almost all of Zhu Yuanzhang's relatives were killed, leaving only him and his second brother. The landlord Liu Jizu gave them a piece of land to bury their parents, and the two brothers went their separate ways to escape the famine.

The second elder brother was planning to go somewhere else to be a son-in-law, but Zhu Chongba, who was only in his teens at the time, didn't know where to go to escape the famine. Later, with the introduction of an acquaintance, he came to Huangjue Temple to become a monk.

When he was young, Zhu Yuanzhang suffered all kinds of bullying in the temple. The abbot's wife ordered him to do this and that every day, such as washing the floor, wiping Buddha statues, fetching water, chopping wood and making fire. He had to do endless hard labor. He slept in the woodshed, but at least it was sheltered from the wind and rain. He ate the leftovers of his fellow disciples and never had enough, but at least he didn't starve to death.

Unfortunately, even such a life did not last long. Due to a series of disasters, even the temple had no surplus food and could not feed the extra population. So Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been eating leftovers in Huangjue Temple for more than 50 days, was driven out of the temple.

He was holding a clay bowl in his hand and was driven out by the abbot to beg for alms. It was called begging, but in fact it was just begging for food.

Zhu Yuanzhang held the clay bowl in his hand, but he did not seek death. He went to Luzhou, then went north to Henan, and finally returned to Haozhou. For several years, he almost walked around the Jiangbei Province of Henan and begged for food. He saw the warmth and coldness of human nature, and also met many people during these years, enriching his personal experience.

In the eighth year of Zhizheng, Zhu Yuanzhang returned to Huangjue Temple. At that time, the abbot of the temple had died, and only a few fellow brothers were still in the temple. Zhu Yuanzhang stayed in the temple, began to calm down and study hard.

The young man lost both his parents and had four years of wandering and begging, which made him experience the ups and downs of life. Now he is teaching himself to read, and I wonder what he has learned now.

Originally thought that he would spend the rest of his life in the temple, but unexpectedly war broke out again. Liu Futong and Du Zundao in the north, led the Yellow River workers to take the lead in raising the anti-Yuan banner, and in half a year they captured a large area of ​​counties in Huaibei, Henan, and had an army of more than 100,000. There were also people like Zhima Li in Xuzhou, who staged a feat of capturing a city with eight people. Overnight, an army of 100,000 emerged, and they captured a large area of ​​counties in Xuzhou.

The Luzhou Road, which was the closest to him, was also not peaceful. It was heard that a witch from the Maitreya Sect led peasants and boatmen to revolt, but the rebellion was suppressed by the imperial court not long after it started. Only a group of water bandits remained in Chaohu, occupying the lake and holding on.

Who would have thought that in September, the Chaohu Red Turbans would rise up again and capture several cities including Luzhou, Lu'an and Heyang in succession. Now they have occupied the entire Luzhou Road, part of Yangzhou Road and part of Anfeng Road, and now even Haozhou.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very confused and didn't know what his future fate would be.

This group of Red Turbans from Luzhou did not kill people indiscriminately. Instead, they abolished the court's high-interest loans, abolished human trafficking and slavery, and exempted the people of Haozhou from next year's summer grain tax. This move won the hearts of the people.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought that if Marshal Lu of Luzhou Road could continue to occupy Haozhou, perhaps the people in his hometown would have a better life.

But things in the world are not that simple. The Red Turbans are all rebels. Now that the Luzhou soldiers have occupied this place, the court will definitely send a large army to suppress them. What kind of people are the officials and troops of the court? Even if Zhu Yuanzhang has not seen them during the years when he was wandering and begging, he must have heard about them. They robbed the people, raped women, killed innocent people and claimed credit. The officials and troops of the Yuan court did all kinds of evil.

If the Luzhou soldiers occupied this place, they would definitely attract the imperial troops, and then the people in my hometown would suffer from war again.

As he expected, within a few days after the Luzhou soldiers arrived, they posted notices everywhere, calling for the city to be built and the fields to be cleared. The landlords in the countryside were forced into the city, and all the stored grain in their homes was moved into the city. The red-turbaned county magistrate then took out grain and began to recruit people to build the city.

I heard that in the city of Haozhou now, the purchase of grain has been limited per capita based on the baojia household registration. When Zhu Yuanzhang heard the news, the fear of hunger in his youth once again crept into his mind, and he didn't know whether he could survive this war.

The Red Turban officials also posted a notice at the entrance of the temple, asking people who had relatives in the city to move in as soon as possible and take their food and property with them. Otherwise, once the Yuan army arrived, the people outside the city would either be killed for merit or captured and forced to work as laborers.

This was not a scare at all. The people also knew the character of the imperial army and did not need to be intimidated by the red scarves. As soon as they heard that the imperial army was approaching, they flocked into the city. If they had relatives elsewhere, some of them would drag their families with them to escape the war.

But these days, even if you want to escape from the war, there is nowhere to go. To the northwest is Liu Futong's Red Army, which is also fighting there. Xuzhou to the north is the hardest hit. Even if you want to flee, you can only flee to the south.

Fortunately, the rebel government gave them another way out. If they really had nowhere to go, they could join the army as soldiers, or follow the government to Dingyuan for temporary refuge. Skilled craftsmen could also go to Luzhou to work. Those who had no skills could go to the southern counties to farm.

The arrangements were well organized, and a way out was shown to the people in the chaos. However, Zhu Yuanzhang's entire family had died, and only his second brother had disappeared without a trace. He had no land or house, and no skills. In this big world, he had no place to stand.

Even if he escaped this time, if the temple was affected by the war, where would he make a living in the future?
Looking at the newly recruited Red Turban Army on the official road not far away, there were many teenagers in their teens. They were as big as when he first entered Huangjue Temple. There were 7,000 soldiers, but most of them were unarmed. Could such a large army stop the court officials and soldiers?
He didn't want to join the army because he was afraid of death, and he was even more afraid that his Zhu family would have no descendants.

"If we go out with the Yuan army, we are afraid that the red scarf will arrive. If we throw the red scarf, we are also afraid that the Yuan army will arrive."

"I had no choice but to raise an army in order to save myself" and "I have no idea what the future holds for my kingdom, I can only try to save my life." These were what Zhu Yuanzhang said after he became emperor.

He joined the army only to "preserve himself and his life". After he became emperor, he felt that the Zhu family had few descendants. The tragedy of his family being almost wiped out by famine when he was a teenager deeply shocked him, so he gave birth to dozens of children.

Throughout the Ming Dynasty, the emperor had few offspring. Even if the princes and royal family were counted, few could compare with Zhu Yuanzhang in terms of having children. This shows how obsessed he was with passing on his family line.

Tangled, confused, fearful, and at a loss, this was Zhu Yuanzhang's current state. While sweeping the doorway, he was staring at the army on the official road not far away, lost in thought.

Next to the team on the official road, Lu Jin was also riding a horse and stopping by the road, looking towards the direction of the temple.

Feng Sheng saw Lu Jin stopped and seemed to be looking at something. He followed his gaze and found that it was a temple. Could it be that the Marshal wanted to burn incense and worship Buddha?

Feng Sheng rode up to him and asked directly, "Marshal, you want to go to the temple to worship Buddha. Do you want me to go with you?"

Hearing this, Lu Jin turned around and rolled his eyes at him. "I don't worship Buddha. If gods and Buddhas were effective, then wouldn't the Song army's six Ding and six Jia divine soldiers have crushed the Jin army and beaten them violently? Wouldn't there be the Jingkang Shame?"

"Uh, that's not what I meant." Feng Sheng knew immediately that Lu Jin had misunderstood when he heard it. Regarding military conflicts, although there was a theory of yin and yang among the four ancient military schools, he had never seen any famous general praying to gods before going to war. Therefore, he did not believe in praying to gods before going to war.

"Then what do you mean?"

Feng Sheng immediately whispered, "I heard that the wife is pregnant, I thought the Marshal wanted to..."

Although the words were not finished, Lu Jin had already understood what he meant. People in ancient times attached great importance to passing on the family line, and whether to have a boy or a girl was a big issue. Especially in Lu Jin's case, it had risen to the level of a political issue. As the saying goes, there is no private matter in the royal family. Only when the lord has a male heir can he have a successor, and the power of the Shengwu Army can be more stable.

Lu Jin frowned when he heard this, "No need, I don't believe in that stuff."

"Yes." Feng Sheng nodded, and then asked in a low voice, "Does the Marshal still go to the temple?"

Lu Jin thought for a moment before saying, "You take the main force and go first. I'll let Shen Ren follow me to take a look, and then I'll chase you."

"Yes."

Feng Sheng immediately accepted the order and agreed. He rode his horse along the team and shouted, and continued to march with his troops. Lu Jin waved his hand and called Shen Ren and Zhang Long over. However, before they could ride over, Lu Jin saw two soldiers of the Shengwu Army with red armbands on their left arms. They went to Huangjue Temple and handed a letter to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Lu Jin frowned and immediately rushed over with his cavalry.

Zhu Yuanzhang put down the broom and opened the letter. It turned out to be a letter written to him by his old acquaintance Tang He. In the letter, Tang He said that he had become a trial captain in the Shengwu Army and was now in charge of nearly a thousand people, which was considered a successful position. Since he had become so successful, he could not forget his old acquaintance.

In the letter, Tang He said that the Yuan bandits would arrive soon, and if Zhu Yuanzhang had nowhere to go, he could help arrange for him to join the Haozhou Internal Guard, where he could at least have military rations and maybe even get some land in the future.

The internal guard system of the Shengwu Army was originally a system of registering all civilians and recruiting good-looking farmers who owned land as soldiers. They were responsible for garrisoning local areas and had basically no military pay, but they did not have to serve in long expeditions. Only when they left the city, province, or country would they be given travel pay according to different tasks, which was a field allowance.

Now Haozhou is fortifying its walls and clearing the fields, and has not had time to register the people, so the internal guards cannot be officially established. This is a loophole. With Tang He's identity as a trial centurion, it is not difficult to get a quota for Zhu Yuanzhang in the internal guards. Zhu Yuanzhang quickly read the letter and hesitated. Tang He joined the Red Scarf and became a centurion, which is really promising. But even he said that the Yuan army was coming, so this thing is probably true.

But once the Yuan army arrives, wouldn't it be more likely for him to die if he joins the army at this time?

Just as he was hesitating, he heard the sound of horse hooves. A group of cavalry came running from the official road. The leader was a man wearing bright armor, riding a chestnut horse, with a sword on his waist and a bow hanging on the horse's back. He came close in a blink of an eye.

pat-

Yaoguang, who was restrained, snorted loudly, and two puffs of white air were released in the cold wind of early spring. Lu Jin glanced down at Zhu Chongba, then looked at the two soldiers.

The two soldiers had already recognized that the man was their own commander-in-chief, and they were so scared that they knelt on one knee and waited there before Lu Jin arrived.

"I've met the handsome man!"

Lu Jin glanced at the letter in Zhu Yuanzhang's hand, then turned and asked the two soldiers.

"Which battalion are you from? Who are you delivering the letter to? Don't you know the military's confidentiality rules?"

When the two heard the confidentiality rules, they were so frightened that they dropped their other legs to their knees and hurriedly explained.

"It's unfair. I'm reporting to you, Marshal. We are under the command of the Seventh Regiment's Training Officer, responsible for checking the entry of civilians from the south of the city. This morning, we met the new Officer Tang. He said that there was an old acquaintance of his at the Huangjue Temple outside the city, and asked us to pass a message on his behalf when we went out. We are of low rank and dare not refuse, so we delivered the letter on his behalf. I hope you will understand. I am willing to confront Officer Tang."

Lu Jin had no expression on his face and asked again, "Have you read the contents of the letter?"

"No."

Hearing this, Lu Jin frowned again, "You haven't read it, but have you shown this letter to the instructor?"

The two soldiers looked panicked and said with bitter faces, "I don't know this."

"How dare you send it without knowing it? Don't you know the confidentiality regulations in the military? Recite the confidentiality regulations to me!" Lu Jin scolded angrily.

"Yes, when marching and fighting, you must obey the orders of your superiors. Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and don't listen to what you shouldn't listen to. There are no private letters in the army. All letters in the army must not reveal the location of the garrison, and must not reveal the situation in the army. If there are letters from home, they must be handed over to the training officer for inspection and sent back in a unified manner. Soldiers in the army are not allowed to privately pass on letters to others."

The soldier's voice became lower and lower as he spoke, knowing that he had made a big mistake this time, and he was silent by the end.

Lu Jin snorted coldly, "So you know this. Do you know why the army issued this order? If everyone spreads the letter and reveals the situation in the army, once the letter is intercepted by the enemy, the enemy will know all the strengths and weaknesses of our army.

"Are you warmly dressed, well fed, and tired after marching? If you complain to your relatives and friends, the enemy will know everything. This is a farce, and you will all die!
"I don't allow you to pass on letters so that you can live. Keeping secrets means ensuring victory, and ensuring victory means saving lives. Don't you remember this?!"

The two soldiers were so scared that they almost peed themselves. They immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy with sobbing voices, "Marshal, please spare us. We know we were wrong. Please forgive us this time."

Zhu Yuanzhang stood aside and watched in amazement. He had never expected that there were so many rules for writing a letter from the army. It was also the first time he knew that the military discipline of these Luzhou soldiers was so strict. No wonder they were able to win battle after battle and conquer such a large territory.

Zhu Chongba glanced at Lu Jin secretly, and Lu Jin looked back, glanced at him, and then scolded the two soldiers, "Stand up, don't embarrass me here."

Upon hearing this, the two soldiers immediately stood aside trembling, not daring to speak or run.

Lu Jin looked at Zhu Chongba again, glanced at the letter in his hand and asked, "Are you and Tang He old acquaintances?"

Zhu Chongba frowned and nodded, "Tang He and I are from the same hometown. We studied in a private school together when we were young."

Lu Jin pointed and said, "What did he write to you? Bring me the letter and let me see it."

Zhu Yuanzhang had just finished listening to the little soldier reciting the military law, and knew that Tang He, "If you don't return to your hometown when you are rich and powerful, it is like wearing fine clothes at night." He came to him, an old acquaintance, to show off his rapid rise. He was afraid that something might happen if he showed off. He didn't know how the Red Scarf would punish the commander. He hoped not to chop him off directly. That guy had already been a trial captain, so he was not a small official. It shouldn't be that easy for him to kill, right?

Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated for a moment, but decided to speak up for Tang He. He handed the letter to Lu Jin while explaining.

"Tang He and I are old acquaintances. He knows that I have nowhere to go and live in Huangjue Temple. Now there are notices posted everywhere, saying that the Yuan army is coming and asking the people to escape. He invited me to join the army out of our old friendship, saying that I can enter the city and eat military rations, but he did not reveal the real situation of the army. Marshal, please understand, don't wrongly accuse him."

Lu Jin quickly glanced at the letter. The content was the same as what Zhu Yuanzhang said. It only mentioned that the Yuan army was coming. However, Zhu Yuanzhang also said that you had posted notices everywhere and everyone knew about it, so it should not be a secret. As for the Internal Guard Army, only the name was mentioned and it was said that they could eat military rations, but it did not say how many troops the Internal Guard Army had. The confidentiality level of this letter was still acceptable.

Lu Jin nodded slightly, and then said to Zhu Chongba, "You really are an old acquaintance of him. He invited you to the city to eat military rations, and you are here to make amends for him.

"As for whether it was unjust or not, it is not for me to judge. The army has its own military laws. The letter he wrote to you did not reveal any secrets, but I don't know whether the letter had been checked in advance. This is a procedural issue."

Lu Jin waved the letter and called out, "Zhang Long."

"The end will be here."

"Take this letter and take these two people to Haozhou City and give it to Yu Tongyuan. These two people secretly delivered the letter for others and will be fined three days of city work. If they do it again, they will be punished more severely.

"As for the trial commander of the Thousand Household Battalion, Tang He, let Yu Tongyuan check to see if the letter has been given to the training officer for review in advance. If not, considering that he has just joined the army and is not familiar with military regulations, he will be punished to copy the confidentiality regulations 100 times and write a 3,000-word self-criticism in front of the entire regiment!
"Also tell Yu Tongyuan what I said. A war is imminent. Ask him to enforce military discipline and prevent anything like this from happening again."

"Yes!" Zhang Long immediately took the letter and agreed.

When the two soldiers heard that they were only sentenced to three days of hard labor, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief and kowtowed again, saying, "Thank you very much for sparing our lives, Marshal. Thank you very much for sparing our lives, Marshal. We will never do it again next time."

"Go ahead, remember what I said. The military is not unkind, nor is it forbidding you to write letters home. You can write letters, but they must be checked and sent back in unison. This is to keep you alive. Do you want your family to receive a letter or a death notice?"

"Yes, I will definitely remember it." The two soldiers were overjoyed and sad, crying, but were finally dragged away by Zhang Longqiang.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was standing nearby without saying anything, he heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that Tang He was only going to punish them by making them copy military laws and not to make any self-criticism. And the two soldiers were just going to do hard labor on the city construction site for three days. Well, this was indeed a punishment.

Unexpectedly, although the military laws set by the commander-in-chief were strict, they also had some humanity. In Zhu Yuanzhang's opinion, if he encountered such a thing, he might kill the two soldiers.

Zhu Chongba was stunned, not knowing why such an idea came to his mind.

Just as he was stunned, he heard Lu Jin ask him again.

"Monk, what's your name?"

(End of this chapter)