The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 590: Every injustice has its owner, and every debt has its owner

The Chongyang Prince's mansion was brightly lit.

Zhu Yuanzhang started from scratch and after becoming the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he had deep love for his descendants. In order to prevent his descendants from suffering the same sins and hardships as he had suffered, he established the Ming Dynasty vassal system.

After Emperor Chengzu's Jingnan Campaign, the princes' power to command troops and administer the country was gradually taken away, and most of them were imprisoned.

The endings of the descendants of this group of people were mostly not very good. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the last princes and relatives were either killed by bandits or massacred by the Qing army. Very few of them had a truly good end.

Among them, Zhu Xianxiu, the Prince of Chongyang, was convicted and executed during the Jiajing period, thus ending the lineage of the Prince of Chongyang.

Zhu Xianxiu would never have dreamed that his mansion would one day become a restaurant for a group of soldiers to gather.

There was a long table in the living room, and a group of warriors were sitting around it. The table was a mess, with dishes and wine glasses scattered all over it.

At the door of the living room, four well-armored servants were looking around with a fierce look.

At the head of the long table, Kunshan Gong Zuo Liangyu sat upright. This handsome man was already over forty years old, but he was well maintained. Time had left no trace on his face, and he was still the same young man without any change.

At this moment, Zuo Liangyu gently twisted his beautiful beard, as if recalling the past.

There were four military generals sitting on both sides, they were Ma Jinzhong, Jin Shenghuan, Hui Dengxiang and Wang Yuncheng. The four of them sat crookedly with their heads tilted back, and they all looked a little drunk.

Ma Jinzhong was the deputy general of Jiangxia. He had just arrived from the north. Compared to the others present, General Ma was more familiar with the enemy's situation:
"Grand Commander, that Pu guy only has a few thousand soldiers. He can't even besiege Jiangxia, let alone attack Wuchang. Yet he dares to challenge us every day, like a fly that can't be driven away. He doesn't really fight, but just sends refugees to attack at night and lets us bombard the city with artillery during the day. Damn it. He doesn't send any soldiers to attack the city, but just wastes time like this. He really thinks he's a god-like soldier!"

Jin Shenghuan, who was sitting opposite, narrowed his eyes and whispered to Ma Jinzhong, "Then why don't you rush out and fight? If we keep wasting time like this, the people in the city will have to eat the food, and tens of thousands of troops will have to eat the food. How long can we hold out? Besides, what if Liu Zhaosun leads his troops here?"

Ma Jinzhong automatically ignored the first question and patted his chest, saying, "Jiangxia has enough food and grass to sustain it for half a year. As for the civilians, the Qi army allows them to leave the city to find food. Pu Gang is not afraid of running thousands of men for thousands of miles, so why should I be afraid? Let's fight him!"

When they heard that the Qi army allowed the people in the city to go out to eat, they were all shocked. This was obviously beyond their comprehension.

Jin Shenghuan asked again, "Are the surrounding trees burned?"

Ma Jinzhong thought for a while before saying, "Burn it. Not a single feather will be left for him!"

"It's better to burn it. It's better to burn it."

Jin Shenghuan nodded repeatedly.

Ma Jinzhong was originally an old subordinate of the Tang Dynasty Emperor Li Xianzhong and a native of northern Shaanxi. In the first year of Wuding, he followed Liu Zongmin in the eastern expedition to attack Qi. After the Wanggongchang explosion, Li Xianzhong was killed in the battle. Ma Jinzhong was desperate. It happened that Zuo Liangyu was recruiting soldiers everywhere at that time, so he joined Zuo Liangyu.

Zuo Liangyu was still twirling his beard, looking relaxed and silent.

The fat and big-eared Wang Yuncheng suddenly laughed lewdly and said:

"Even trade is banned in the north. Ordinary people have to smuggle rice to buy it. Their women are also required to join the army to fight, and they don't bind their feet. Isn't this fucking nonsense? Old Ma, have you seen any female soldiers from Qi? If you catch them, save a few for your brothers."

Ma Jinzhong glared at him and said angrily, "If you want a woman, grab her yourself. I've been guarding Jiangxia for five days, and you haven't sent a single soldier in Xianning, and you still have the nerve to ask me for a woman! I see there are a lot of Miao girls in Chongyang County, and they're so pretty! Go back and grab a few to warm your bed!"

Wang Yuncheng was frustrated and turned to look at Hui Dengxiang, who was in charge of guarding Wuchang. This time, he was also summoned by Kunshan Gong to Chongyang to discuss matters.

"General Hui, how is your grain business in Huguang? I heard that the black market price of rice in Xiangyang, Qi State, is already ten taels per stone! I'm so poor that my servants have to pawn their weapons and armor. If there is a way to make money, please help me..."

"I'm going to give you a piece of shit! You never do business on credit..."

Before Hui Dengxiang could continue speaking, there was a sudden bang, and the wine bowls and dishes on the long table fell to the ground.

Zuo Liangyu slammed the table and stood up:

"Have you said enough?! I didn't hire you here to hear how you make money!"

The four of them immediately dared not say anything, and the guards at the door all looked over here with fierce eyes.

"I said this when I was in Nanjing: every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt has its creditor!" The four subordinates were frightened by him and stood up as well.

"This Northern Expedition is first and foremost to avenge the Zuo family, and secondly to steal things and women! Wang Yuncheng! You've got hair growing out of your ears!"

Wang Yuncheng's fat face turned red and he stood there not daring to move.

"Twelve years ago, in Linqing, Liu Zhaosun murdered twenty-three members of the Zuo family. My son, Zuo Menggeng, died at the hands of this bastard! Towards the end, this bastard also stole my beloved concubine, Chen Yuanyuan, and made her the Imperial Consort of Qi! This murder of my son and the seizure of my concubine must be avenged!"

Zuo Liangyu punched the long table, his hand pierced by a broken bowl, bleeding profusely. However, he acted as if nothing had happened, looked around, and continued:

"Just now, General Ma told me that the Sixth Corps led by Pu Gang is the one attacking Huguang this time. They were also the ones who attacked us in Linqing twelve years ago!
The faces of the four generals turned ferocious at the same time, and the past of Linqing came to everyone's mind. On that night twelve years ago, many Ming soldiers died, and the four of them were considered lucky, as they escaped death by following Zuo Liangyu.

"Ma Jinzhong, go back and tell Li Cheng that you two must hold Jiangxia. When the morale of the Qi army is low, I will counterattack with all my strength and annihilate Pu Gang's troops. Then, it will be Liu Zhaosun."

All the generals straightened their backs at the same time.

Through the account of Xuzhou's surrender to the Qi army, Zuo Liangyu had a deep understanding of the Qi State.

He knew that Liu Zhaosun was in a difficult situation, and it could even be said that he was trapped both internally and externally.

Therefore, this time Zuo Liangyu was willing to spend all his family assets and launch this large-scale Northern Expedition together with Zheng Sen from Fujian.

"Everyone, open your eyes! Eyes aren't just for looking at women! Zheng Chenggong is just a pirate. He said he was going to attack southern Liaoning, but he was actually trying to get ahead of us and seize Shandong! He told the emperor that day that he didn't want any food or supplies, but before he left, the dignitaries of Nanjing gave him more than a million in silver, money, and food! He was so shameless that he actually accepted it all! He's a real beast in human form!"

Zuo Liangyu was still indignant.

It was also the royal army's northern expedition, and it was also the king's vanguard. When the Zuo family army marched north, the Nanjing officialdom reacted lukewarmly. Not to mention money, there were not even a few bureaucrats who came to see them off.

It can be seen that the Southeast pirates are not only good at robbing, but also good at misleading people.

"Well, this traitor has no king or father, and he didn't even take revenge for his father. He just wants to rob things. A pirate is a pirate! He will never amount to anything! Shandong is already a mess, with the White Lotus Sect, the bandits, and the Qi army fighting each other. Let him rob. If he wants to pick peaches, he can go and fight the White Lotus Sect. I guess Liu Zhaosun will definitely focus on defending Shandong, and let Zheng Sen attract the Qi army so that we can occupy Huguang and the Central Plains as soon as possible..."

Zuo Liangyu twirled his beard and laughed coldly:

"In the end, it's still unclear who will pick the peaches."

"The Qi army has only 5,000 men. They have been stationed in a fortified city for over ten days. Even if they didn't attack the city much, they are exhausted from traveling thousands of miles and are not used to the climate and water. They are now at the end of their strength. In three days, the Zuo family army will counterattack!"

He looked around and began to give orders for a counterattack.

"Jin Shenghuan, you will lead your 5,000 troops through Hanchuan, destroy the post roads, and cut off Pu Gang's retreat. You must reach Hanchuan before the 26th. Keep your men under control and do not plunder along the way, otherwise you will be subject to military law!"

"The last general takes command!"

"Prime Minister Hui Deng! You must lead your 10,000 troops to block Baliwan and prevent them from escaping eastward! You must arrive by the 26th, otherwise I will chop off your head!"

"As for you!"

Zuo Liangyu finally looked at Wang Yuncheng and said, "Now, you don't need to defend Xianning anymore. Return and march north immediately to reinforce Ma Jinzhong and Li Cheng. Cross the Huangpi River within a certain time limit, attack the Qi army, and force them to flee. General Wang, I don't care about your usual smuggling business. If you make a mistake this time and delay the Northern Expedition, you and your family in Nanjing will lose your heads!"

Wang Yuncheng shuddered and agreed.

Zuo Liangyu said loudly:

"Liu the thief is trapped both internally and externally, and has lost the support of the people. All he needs is our help! Twelve years ago, I failed to kill Liu Zhaosun in Linqing, and I still regret it. This time, he will definitely die! Everyone, if we can't defeat Liu the thief in this battle, we will all die! Kill him and destroy Qi, and the north will be ours. Good days are yet to come!"

The four generals responded in unison: "We will obey the orders of the Grand Commander!"

(End of this chapter)