The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 64 The Three Heroes of Fengchen
"die!"

With the sound of dragons roaring and tigers howling, Liu Zhaosun stepped forward and hit Chai Guozhu with a Baji push. Chai Guozhu seemed to be hit by a hammer. His body immediately flew seven or eight steps away, spitting blood from his mouth and struggling to stand up.

Xiong Tingbi's expression changed slightly, and he shouted to the standard-bearing soldiers behind him: "Capture Chai Guozhu and tie him up and beat him twenty times!!"

Several standard-bearing soldiers came out from behind him. They were all strong and muscular. Without saying a word, they pushed Chai Guozhu, who had just gotten up, to the ground again and beat him with military sticks in public.

Seeing Chai Guozhu being beaten, Deputy General Li Huaixin was silent. Looking at Liu Zhaosun's murderous look, he also felt a little guilty.

"According to military law, insulting a colleague is punishable by twenty strokes of the cane. Lieutenant General Liu, Chai Guozhu is a fierce fighter, but he's just vicious with his words. So, give him twenty strokes of the cane. What do you think?"

Seeing Xiong Tingbi pleading for this person, Liu Zhaosun was still not satisfied, but he had to give face to Xiong Jinglüe, so after thinking about it, he gave up.

"Follow the general's orders!"

Kang Yingqian quickly came out to smooth things over:

"General Xiong is an extraordinary commander of the army. I admire him deeply. Our emperor is so wise and powerful that he sent General Xiong to lead the army to Liaodong, bringing with him the elite troops and brave generals from Jizhen. We will wipe out the shame of the defeat at Sarhu. It will be as easy as taking something from a bag to destroy Liao within a year!"

Liu Zhaosun secretly admired what General Kang said.

He not only flattered Xiong Tingbi, but also praised the generals of Jizhen, and even did not leave out the emperor who was far away in the capital.

He also made a subtle criticism of the former governor Yang Hao, which was in line with Xiong Tingbi's arrogant temperament.

After hearing this, several generals nodded slightly, feeling that they found it quite useful.

Liu Zhaosun felt sad and shook his head, saying, "Don't blame me, General Xiong. I fought my way all the way to Hunjiang, through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, narrowly escaping death. It's not that I refuse to hand over grain, but the city is short of it. We have to seize the Jiannu grain and provide relief to the people. Killing them is clearly trying to make things difficult for me."

Xiong Tingbi picked up his horsewhip and was about to hit Chai Guozhu again: "You and others have broken the military laws!"

Seeing the governor's words, Liu Zhaosun had nothing more to say. He turned around and continued walking towards the city gate. The feud between him and Jizhen was thus established.

After this incident, everyone's faces turned ugly. They stopped chatting and hurriedly followed Brigadier General Liu into Kaiyuan City.

Additional soldiers were dispatched to the top of Kaiyuan City, and at this time the soldiers were all on alert on the top of the city, as if facing a powerful enemy.

The original intention was to guard against Xiong Tingbi pirating Yuan Dudu's "enter their army and kill their leader", but he never thought that it seemed like he was going to start a mutiny.

Under the murderous threat of the soldiers on the city wall, Li Huaixin's face turned pale and Xiao Ruxun also frowned.

Xiong Tingbi laughed heartily. "I passed by Shenyang the other day and saw that its defenses were in disarray. There were Mongols and Haixi Jurchens at the city gates, and the soldiers guarding the city didn't even approach to question them! And look at Kaiyuan City. The soldiers are armored and armed with sharp weapons, fully equipped with bows and crossbows, and have excellent firearms. If you want to enter the city, you need a warrant from the Lieutenant General, Lieutenant General Liu."

Liu Zhaosun quickly turned around and pretended to listen attentively.

"Lieutenant General Liu is a strict commander of the army, quite like Zhou Yafu. No wonder he was able to defeat the Jiannu! He also managed to reverse Liaodong's decline!"

Liu Zhaosun: Is this okay?

At this moment, Liu Zhaosun wanted to say: I am preparing my troops and horses just to guard against you.

Xiong Tingbi had a really wild imagination, no wonder he later suggested that the court give up Liaodong and even move the capital to Nanjing... He was really outspoken and dared to say anything, no wonder he later caused trouble and his head was spread to all corners of the country.

What is the relationship between Zhou Yafu and Emperor Wen of Han, and what is the relationship between Liu Zhaosun and Xiong Tingbi?
Li Huaixin had read a little and knew the story of the garrison at Xiliu. He said sarcastically:
"Lieutenant General Liu is only twenty years old, but he has already killed thousands of Jiannu. Given time, he will become powerful in Liaodong and will naturally be comparable to Zhou Yafu. However, there is only one Zhou Yafu, and not everyone can be like him."

Hearing the hidden meaning in these words, Kang Yingqian retorted, "General Li, please rest assured. With this military supervisor here, there won't be any Zhou Yafus in Liaodong. I am worried about Jizhen. Lieutenant General Liu has destroyed the Bordered Blue Banner, and the Jiannu are fleeing westward. If they plunder the Western Tartars, it won't just be Huduntu who will be there. Chaohua and Subudi will also be there. General Li, you should keep an eye on it."

Kang Yingqian clearly meant that he and Liu Zhaosun were in the same camp. His words also warned Li Huaixin that Liu Zhaosun could destroy the Jiannu and could also easily take over Jizhen.

"So, you still want to fight against yourselves and be laughed at by the Jiannu?"

As a guest soldier, Li Huaixin was certainly not afraid of the Kaiyuan military supervisor. Kang Yingqian's imperial sword could not cut him, so he also imitated the tone of a scholar and continued to curse:

"Haha, your intentions as Sima Zhao are known to everyone. You are just visiting troops, yet you are lingering in Kaiyuan and refusing to leave! What are you planning to do? Do you really think we don't know?"

Liu Zhaosun was speechless. It must have been destined by heaven. Three thousand soldiers of the Qi family were slaughtered in Jizhou that year, and now Jizhen was bullying them again.

At this moment, he was too lazy to argue about these benefits.

Xiong Tingbi was furious at the endless bickering between the two sides. He had led Jizhen to aid Liao, but these military leaders were always trying to gain benefits. He hated this and would have sent them back long ago if there was no one else available.

"Has that been enough? I sent you to Liaodong to fight in the battlefield, not to watch you bicker."

"If you have the energy, chop down a few more Jiannu! The civil officials are just talking about military affairs on paper, talking nonsense; the military generals don't know how to fight, they spend all day playing with words and pretending to be cultured. They all call themselves Confucian generals and think they are Marin. What a jerk!"

When Xiong Tingbi said this, he quickly looked at Xiao Ruxun, indicating that he was not targeting General Xiao.

"Do you think my imperial sword isn't sharp? I can kill the generals of Liaozhen, and I can kill you too!"

Xiong Tingbi was outspoken, and Liu Zhaosun had learned something new today.

With just three sentences, he offended three or four people. His emotional intelligence is really low.

Li Huaixin didn't dare to speak and turned his head away.

Seeing that the two sides could not reconcile, Xiao Ruxun led Li Huaixin and others out of the city first. Before leaving, the old general walked up to Liu Zhaosun and sighed:

"Lieutenant General Liu is a heroic young man with a promising future. It's a pity that I won't be able to see him."

Liu Zhaosun hurriedly bowed to Xiao Ruxun in return, and finally watched this Confucian general and a group of Jizhen warriors slowly leave the city. Hearing what he had just said, he felt a little sad in his heart.

"A generation of famous generals, has fallen to this point."

After Li Huaixin and the others left, Liu Zhaosun felt the world had become much quieter. Only Liu Zhaosun and Xiong Tingbi remained. Jin Yuji and Pei Dahu, blades in hand, stood guard.

A Xuanda garrison commander led by standard bearers was stationed nearby for protection. Liu Zhaosun took a look at the commander, who had a long, red beard, a strong build, and was wearing two layers of armor.

Recalling that he was also a garrison commander not long ago and was bullied everywhere, he said to Xiong Tingbi, "Xiong Jinglüe has such a powerful general under his command. Is he also from Jizhen?"

Xiong Tingbi withdrew his gaze and said to the guard behind him, "Man Gui, I meet Lieutenant General Liu!"

Man Gui, like a black bear, rode his horse to Liu Zhaosun, dismounted and kowtowed.

Liu Zhaosun quickly helped Man Gui up, looked him up and down, and praised him:

"He is indeed a fierce general. Has he ever killed a Tartar?"

Man Gui touched his head and replied, "General Liu, I have only killed the Western Tartars, not the Tartars."

Liu Zhaosun laughed and said: "General, if you follow Lord Xiong, you will be killed by the Tartars in Liaodong in the future."

On the way from Xuan Da, Man Gui heard people say that Liu Zhaosun was a fierce general who defeated the Jiannu and was a young hero.

This time when I came to Liaodong with Xiong Jinglüe, I had the chance to see the real person. I found that Liu Zhaosun was dignified and chivalrous, and spoke in a kind manner without any airs of an official.

Seeing that the Ming army in the city obeyed orders and did not disturb the people, Man Gui could not help but respect General Liu even more. This superior, who was younger than himself, might be the hope for pacifying Liao in the future.

Liu Zhaosun and Xiong Tingbi continued their inspection of the city. Kaiyuan was an important town in northern Liao, close to Mongolia, Korea, and the Jurchens.

People of all ethnic groups lived in the city. Markets were held on the third, sixth, ninth, thirteenth, sixteenth, nineteenth, twenty-third, twenty-sixth and twenty-ninth day of every month. There were three horse markets: the Liaodong Horse Market, the Jurchen Horse Market and the Tatar Horse Market. These were important places for trade between the Ming Dynasty and the Jurchens and Mongols.

During the Yongle period, the imperial court established Anle Prefecture in Kaiyuan, which was specifically responsible for managing the horse market.

Today happened to be a market holiday, so Liu Zhaosun didn't have to worry about meeting Jurchen or Mongolian merchants, otherwise he would have to explain to Xiong Jinglue for a long time.

It should be noted that when Xiong Tingbi was in Shenyang, he firmly advocated killing foreigners and surrendered barbarians.

If he saw that there were foreign merchants such as Jurchens and Mongols active in Kaiyuan City, he would be furious again.

Xiong Tingbi looked around from his horse. All around him, he saw Kaiyuan City, where the people were living peacefully as usual. The streets still bore traces of the fighting, but order was returning. Burned-out shops had reopened, and residents were busy repairing their roofs. Women could be seen strolling the streets. Northern customs were naturally different from those in Huguang, and Xiong Tingbi didn't bother to look at the women who were out in the open.

In Xiong Tingbi's view, this was nothing short of bizarre. Xiong Tingbi had passed through countless counties and garrisons in recent days, and when the people saw his standard-bearing soldiers, they avoided them as if they had seen a ghost.

"How did Admiral Liu do it?"

Liu Zhaosun quickly explained, "Xiong Jinglue, the army suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Kaesong, with thousands of wounded. Placing them in a barracks might affect morale. The elders of Guiyuan Temple outside the city were compassionate and took in some of the wounded. The rest were dispersed among the people in the city."

Xiong Tingbi nodded, and everyone passed by the Yaowang Temple in the west of the city.

The Yaowang Temple was very close to the north gate and had suffered severe damage from the war. The statues of the gods were smashed by muskets and the temple was in a mess. The gentry in the city paid to hire masons to repair it.

Xiong Tingbi looked up and saw a wounded white-pole soldier sitting on the threshold of the Medicine King Temple, playing with a few children while holding a string of candied haws.

The host with white beard walked out from behind the screen wall holding a bowl of medicine and handed the bowl to the wounded soldier at the door. The white-pole soldier raised his hands to take it.

Xiong Tingbi sighed deeply, "The military, civilians, scholars, and merchants are all enjoying themselves. Wonderful! I have been an inspector in Liaodong and an unemployed man in Jiangxia. I have traveled extensively, but I have never seen anything like this."

"Commander Liu, my trip to Kaiyuan has truly opened my eyes! I wonder how you managed to do all this?"

Seeing the praise, Liu Zhaosun quickly said modestly, "General, you are overpraising me. I am only following the will of heaven. War is dangerous and those who should be killed should be killed, and those who should be spared should be spared. That's all."

"Following fate?"

Xiong Tingbi didn't expect that these words would come from the mouth of a military lieutenant general. He thought for a moment that Kaiyuan had stable order and the people had no fear of the government, which showed that Liu Zhaosun was good at commanding the army and was quite popular.

A few days ago, he had been chatting with Qiao Yiqi and had heard some interesting stories about Liu Zhaosun. This man could always think of things that ordinary people could not think of, and do things that ordinary people could not do.

After a bloody battle in Hunjiang and escaping death, he also took in a beautiful girl.

It is rumored that Meiji was brought from Seoul by Jiang Hongli, and fell in love with Liu Zhaosun at first sight. Meiji thought Jiang was cowardly and afraid of fighting, so she ran away at night and entered the tent of Brigadier General Liu.

Qiao Yiqi was a loudmouth, a habit he'd always had back in Sarhu, and he still hadn't gotten over it. After Liu Zhaosun and Young Master Qiao became close friends, the Lieutenant General no longer had any secrets.

Qiao Yiqi also said that the Korean beauty was brave and good at fighting, proficient in all kinds of weapons, and was no less capable of close combat than Bayara of the Jiannu army. She was inseparable from Liu Zhaosun on a daily basis.

Xiong Tingbi looked around and saw only Liu Zhaosun's guards standing far away.

"Where is the Meiji?"

In addition, Qiao Yiqi also told Xiong Tingbi that Brigadier General Liu and Eunuch Wei of the Imperial Household Department had sworn brotherhood.

If there were more Lieutenant General Liu in Liaodong, there would be no need to worry about the destruction of the bandits!

I heard that Yang Hao actually married his daughter to Liu Zhaosun. You must know that Liu Zhaosun was just a small garrison commander at that time...

Xiong Tingbi couldn't help but sneer. Yang Hao wasn't good at fighting, but he was a master at political maneuvering and networking. Now that he was in Kaiyuan, he needed to pay his predecessor a visit and humiliate him in person!
"A brave general rises from the ranks, and a prime minister from the prefectures and counties."

"This boy not only knows how to fight, but he can also protect a region. He can make a good official."

Looking back at Adjutant General Liu, who was so handsome and graceful, he praised in his heart:

"Hongfo fled at night, became sworn brothers with the eunuchs, and in the battle of Hunjiang, the slave chief was terrified. He defended Kaiyuan, his tears moving the gods and ghosts. He was not concerned with reputation or fame, and was well-versed in Confucianism and Buddhism, with the demeanor of a Wei and Jin dynasty scholar. He is a true gentleman, and one must befriend him!"

(End of this chapter)