The Ming Dynasty: My sister, Empress Ma

Tang He's politeness made Ma Wenyuan feel much more relaxed.

Unlike Xu Da, who was so serious and forced a smile that made people feel uneasy.

Tang He is the type of person whose appearance makes him easy to approach.

Even someone as cautious as Ma Wenyuan called out "Big Brother" at this moment.

"Hey, sit down. I've had my men prepare some food. Let's just have a simple meal."

Tang said with a smile.

Before long, the tents were opened again.

The visitor was Liao Yongzhong.

Liao Yongzhong was a very outgoing person. As soon as he came in, he shouted, "Little brother, let me see what I look like."

Upon hearing the voice, Ma Wenyuan immediately stood up. This man was a famous general of the Ming Dynasty's navy, a true naval genius.

If a later era had placed greater emphasis on the navy, this person's abilities would at least qualify him to be a naval commander.

These days, naval forces are not as important as the army, so their status is not as high.

However, Liao Yongzhong deserves Ma Wenyuan's respect, both in terms of his status and personal abilities.

"Haha, good, what a handsome young man." Liao Yongzhong was not tall and his build was not particularly robust, but he had the uninhibited and unconventional spirit of everyone.

"How old are you this year? Are you married?"

Before Ma Wenyuan could speak, Liao Yongzhong continued, "My wife has a younger sister, about your age..."

"Hey, hey, hey, His Highness can handle these matters. Why do you need to meddle?"

Zhou Dexing, who followed closely behind, sneered, "Your girl is such a freak, she's not good enough for me."

Like Liao Yongzhong, Zhou Dexing was also a bold and unrestrained person.

They came in and immediately started mocking Liao Yongzhong, leaving Liao Yongzhong somewhat embarrassed.

This guy is also a formidable general. He's Old Zhu's childhood friend and also the captain of Old Zhu's fire brigade.

Go wherever there is a problem.

In front of these two, Ma Wenyuan acted like a junior, and no one could find fault with him.

Even if both of them are dying.

Sometimes Ma Wenyuan had to admire Old Zhu; he could kill anyone.

Liao Yongzhong, Marquis of Deqing, saved Zhu Yuanzhang at Poyang Lake, thus having rendered meritorious service in saving the emperor's life.

In the third month of the eighth year of the Hongwu reign, he was ordered to commit suicide.

Zhou Dexing, Marquis of Jiangxia, was an original shareholder of Zhu Yuanzhang. During the Hongwu era, he went to quell any rebellions that occurred.

His contributions were significant.

Moreover, he is the only person in the Ming History who, apart from Tang He, can be considered a childhood friend of Zhu Yuanzhang.

However, in the twenty-fifth year of the Hongwu reign, the entire family was executed.

"Now that you two are here, hurry up and find a place to sit. Don't just stand there like an idiot."

Ma Wenyuan's thoughts were interrupted when Tang He spoke.

"Also, this is a family dinner today, so let's not talk about business."

Liao Yongzhong and Zhou Dexing had a good relationship with Tang He, so they casually found a place to sit.

No sooner had he sat down than Liao Yongzhong asked, "General, when exactly are we going to send out our troops?"

That's how people with status are; even if they say they won't talk about work, they'll still bring it up again after a couple of sentences.

"What's the rush? It's been raining and the water's rising every day, how are the boats supposed to get across?"

Tang He pulled a plank from the corner, placed it across two stones, and continued, "To advance now would be a dead end, wouldn't it?"

"But what we're waiting for, the Emperor might not be able to wait for."

Zhou Dexing also spoke up, and at the same time noticed Ma Wenyuan, who hadn't spoken, and joked with a smile, "Right, little brother?"

"Yes."

Ma Wenyuan suddenly said.

These words were meant to echo Zhou Dexing's, but for some reason, they surprised Tang He and the others.

"Your Excellency, what did you just say?" Liao Yongzhong no longer addressed Ma Wenyuan as "little brother" at this moment.

Ma Wenyuan knew that these senior generals had misunderstood.

This is normal; although Ma Wenyuan is now a commander of a thousand households.

But he is also the emperor's brother-in-law, the only member of the current empress's maternal family.

Some people believe that Ma Wenyuan came here to gain experience, while others believe that he was "on behalf of Heaven to patrol the realm."

Especially those close to His Majesty, one or two of them are very clear about the Emperor's personality.

If Ma Wenyuan is just here for training, that's fine, but if he's really "inspecting the world on behalf of Heaven," wouldn't that cause an uproar?

They dared not disbelieve.

Ma Wenyuan wanted to laugh to himself; it was still good to have status.

Whatever he says, his subordinates will spend ages guessing.

Seeing that Tang He had misunderstood, Ma Wenyuan did not explain, but continued.

"His Majesty cannot wait."

Ma Wenyuan repeated, "This battle concerns the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and the entire Shu region. His Majesty has always been very concerned about it."

These words were ambiguous, leaving people still unable to guess Ma Wenyuan's intentions.

Was he being asked to offer advice on behalf of the emperor, or simply to answer his own question...? Tang He wasn't sure. After a while, he tentatively asked, "When do you think is the best time for us to send troops?"

"That depends on your brother." Ma Wenyuan remained irresponsible, neither proactive nor resistant.

There was nothing they could do; the people below had been hoping for revenge these past few days.

Not only Meng Chong, but also Yang Hao, and even Wei Quan from next door came to visit, all asking him when he was going to attack.

This guy's unit suffered the most losses and was the most eager to avenge their defeat.

Ma Wenyuan himself was also thinking about launching an attack as soon as possible. His men had lost many men in the previous battle.

Those people were all trained by him, so it would be a lie to say he didn't feel sorry for them.

Of course, Ma Wenyuan still harbored the idea of ​​getting away with it.

It's not about mentoring, but simply about preventing Tang He from following the same old path.

Historically, Tang He's actions in this battle delayed the inevitable, leading to his reprimand by Zhu Yuanzhang and a significant reduction in his rewards.

If Tang He had launched an attack earlier and avoided delays, he might have been granted the title of Duke a few years earlier.

"Haha, yes, yes, yes, yes." Tang chuckled twice, then immediately changed the subject, "Let's not talk about this, let's eat."

At this time, Tang He's personal guards had also prepared a meal, which included both meat and vegetables and was quite plentiful.

The taste was still just average.

But there aren't that many picky eaters anymore; as long as there's food on the battlefield, that's enough.

"This battle will be tough."

During the meal, Tang He brought up the topic of Qutang Pass again.

"Why not follow the example of the Song Dynasty?" Ma Wenyuan said casually.

Liao Yongzhong quickly realized what was happening.

"Does the Emperor's brother-in-law mean that the main force will feign an attack while a surprise force flanks from the rear, simultaneously launching a coordinated attack from within and without?"

"Wouldn't the main force have suffered heavy losses?"

Tang He still had some doubts. "What if the flanking maneuver fails?"

His concerns were not unfounded. Yang Jing's first attack had already resulted in a major defeat, and this time Tang He could still find some excuses.

But if Yang Jing suffers a major defeat, and then he suffers another major defeat, then he will have no excuse to use.

"While the surprise attack flanks around the enemy, we will have the iron chains cut in the dead of night. This will make the defenses on the river much wider, and even if the surprise attack fails, the main force will not suffer too much loss."

Ma Wenyuan analyzed seriously.

He had brought this up at a meeting chaired by Yang Jing, but Yang Jing hadn't listened at the time. Now he was bringing it up again with Tang He.

"What about the positions on both sides of the strait?" Tang He continued to ask.

He wanted to continue to minimize the losses.

Ma Wenyuan stopped pretending and immediately stood up and bowed, saying...

"If I were to assign another five thousand men, I could take White Salt Mountain."

These words surprised all three of them.

They had no idea where Ma Wenyuan's confidence came from.

Is this really true?

"really."

Ma Wenyuan was not joking. He continued, "With just five thousand men, I can guarantee that the naval forces on the river will not need to worry about the artillery fire from Baiyan Mountain."

After a moment's hesitation, Tang He immediately nodded.

If the Baiyanshan position can be captured, then even if the Qutang Pass cannot be taken, the naval force will not suffer any losses.

In that case, how could Tang possibly disagree?