Ming Dynasty: I, Zhu Yunwen, started by resurrecting my grandmother.

"Your Majesty, although Zhu Yunwen and Chang Yuchun led troops to support Zhengding and won a battle, they also made many mistakes."

Firstly, Zhu Yunwen colluded with the Northern Yuan, and Minmin Temur led his army to provide support.

This matter could be a big deal or a small deal.

The Northern Yuan has always been our mortal enemy.

We fought a war with the Northern Yuan for many years.

But this time, Minmin Timur actually led 5000 troops to come to his aid. Isn't that strange?

This fully demonstrates that Zhu Yunwen and the Northern Yuan had reached some kind of agreement; otherwise, the other side would not have sent troops. This is a very dangerous signal.

Your Majesty, please take this matter seriously.

Everyone could understand that Huang Zicheng's implication was that if Zhu Yunwen colluded with the Northern Yuan, there was a possibility that he would overthrow the court.

Zhu Yunwen frowned deeply; he also felt that there seemed to be something wrong here.

Secondly, Zhu Yuntong also mobilized Tie Xuan from Jinan to support Zhengding.

Tie Xuan and Sheng Yong were stationed in Jinan, which was a local army. How could they be mobilized without the imperial decree?

However, this wasn't the first time Zhu Yunwen had been able to mobilize the troops in Jinan at any time.

This is outrageous!

According to the laws of the imperial court, no one, including generals and princes, may mobilize local troops without the imperial decree.

Otherwise, it shall be treated as treason;

Thirdly, they breached the Hutuo River, flooding the Yan army.

Although they won the battle

However, a large area of ​​land and grain was destroyed in the area surrounding Zhen Ding City. Who will compensate for such a huge economic loss?

Many people are displaced. Without houses to live in or food to eat, they may harbor rebellious thoughts. What if they join forces with pirates to oppose the imperial court?

These are all unstable factors.

Fourth, Zhu Yunwen's identity was special; he was the son of Crown Prince Zhu Biao and Lady Chang.

Your Majesty must be wary.

Your Majesty must not give him too many troops and real power, otherwise, he will become too powerful to control in the future.

Your Majesty should follow the example of Cao Rui during the Three Kingdoms period.

When the Shu army attacked, he appointed Sima Yi as the Grand Commander-in-Chief of the Western Expedition.

Let him go and fight against the Shu army.

After the Shu army retreated, Sima Yi was stripped of his official position and demoted back to his hometown.

Therefore, in my humble opinion, Zhu Yunwen should not only not be rewarded, but should also be punished, and severely punished at that.

Your humble servant suggests that he be stripped of his title of Grand General of the Northern Expedition and imprisoned in the Dali Temple jail to be punished according to the law.

After hearing Huang Zicheng's words, the civil and military officials discussed the matter extensively, with some supporting it and others opposing it.

Zhu Yunwen always regarded Huang Zicheng as his teacher and respected him greatly.

Hearing Huang Zicheng say these words, he began to hesitate.

Huang Zicheng mentioned that Zhu Yuntong's status was too noble to be given real power, a point he also agreed with.

Xu Huizu kowtowed again and said, "Your Majesty, you mustn't do this!"

Zhu Yunwen's support of Zhengding with a small force and the achievement of such a great victory make him a truly meritorious official.

Your Majesty should reward him handsomely; how can you punish him?

What if Zhu Di launches another invasion?

Zhu Yunwen pondered for a moment, looked at Qi Tai, and asked, "Minister Qi, you are the Minister of War. What do you think should be done about this?"

Qi Tai stroked his beard, shaking his head and saying, "Your Majesty, firstly, Zhu Yunwen already possesses considerable power. If we push him too far, we might force him to the opposite side."

Secondly, to our north, there was the Northern Yuan, and also Zhu Di.

There are pirates to our south.

We still need him to fight the pirates.

How about this: remove Zhu Yunwen's title of Grand General Who Pacifies the North, demote him to General Who Conquers the Barbarians, and allow him to serve at the front lines.

If he commits another offense, he will be punished for both offenses without exception.

Zhu Yunwen thought Qi Tai's considerations were thorough, showing both flexibility and tact, and nodded: "Granted!"

Qi Tai then asked, "What should we do with those prisoners?"

The civil and military officials were divided on how to deal with the prisoners of war from the Yan army; some said they should be killed, while others said they should not.

At this moment, Li Jinglong stepped forward and said, "The prisoners of the Yan army are truly hateful. They eat and drink the imperial food, yet they turn around and attack the imperial court."

In my humble opinion, they should all be executed as a warning to others.

"Ahem, ahem," Fang Xiaoru coughed and walked down the steps. "Mencius said that emperors should practice benevolence and righteousness, let alone the soldiers of the Yan army, who are different from those pirates."

Each of them was carefully cultivated by the imperial court, but they all followed the wrong master.

Zhu Di ordered them to rebel against the court, and they dared not disobey; killing them would be a great waste.

It would be better to incorporate them into the army and let them serve at the front. This would also demonstrate Your Majesty's magnanimity and attract more Yan soldiers to surrender.

If Your Majesty executes them, cutting off their escape route, then they will have no choice but to fight against the court to the bitter end.

Because surrendering to the court would still mean execution, it was better to fight to the death, which would create significant resistance for the court.

Li Jinglong, however, said, "No, Your Majesty cannot accept those Yan soldiers."

Back then, Xiang Yu accepted the surrender of Zhang Han's 20 Qin troops.

However, once the Qin soldiers joined the Chu army, they became very unruly. They committed many evil deeds and even oppressed the Chu army, almost annihilating them.

In the end, Xiang Yu was forced into a corner and had 20 Qin soldiers buried alive. If he had known this would happen, why did he do it in the first place? Wouldn't that have been pointless?

Therefore, I advocate that they all be executed to prevent future troubles.

"No!" Fang Xiaoru hurriedly waved his hand. "The Yan army has already surrendered. Kill them instead of letting them surrender."

Many of these Yan army prisoners have relatives in the capital. Killing them would create a potential threat.

Zhu Yunwen felt that both of them made some sense.

Zhu Yunwen then asked Qi Tai, "Minister Qi, what do you think is the proper way to deal with these prisoners?"

Qi Tai thought for a moment and said, "How about this? We won't kill them, nor will we use them. We'll disperse them and send them to different places to reclaim wasteland."

The imperial court can't just support them for nothing; it would be good to let them farm, develop production, and increase the national treasury's grain reserves.

Zhu Yunwen thought Qi Tai's proposal was quite good, a win-win policy: "Alright, let's resolve the prisoner issue this way."

Qi Tai continued, "Tie Xuan was originally a descendant of the Semu people of the Yuan Dynasty, and his temperament was very different from that of the people of the Central Plains."

He and Sheng Yong jointly guarded Jinan.

Tie Xuan was originally just a grain transport officer.

His military command ability is quite outstanding.

He was also very loyal to the imperial court, which is commendable.

However, he had a very close personal relationship with Zhu Yunwen.

Sometimes, in order to rescue Zhu Yunwen, they did not hesitate to violate the provisions of the imperial law and, without the permission of the imperial court, privately mobilized the troops in Jinan to join Zhu Yunwen. How could this be allowed?

If all local officials were like him...

Wouldn't our Great Ming Dynasty be thrown into chaos then?

Therefore, we must give him a warning.

Zhu Yunwen nodded, agreeing with Qi Tai's point.

Qi Tai added, "Zhu Yuntong needs to support Zhengding, but his forces are insufficient. Therefore, he is urgently conscripting troops from Jinan."

Logically speaking, Tie Xuan should have obtained the court's consent before sending troops. How could he mobilize the army without the court's permission?

He doesn't have that right.

Xu Huizu submitted a memorial stating, "Your Majesty, what Lord Qi said makes some sense. However, special circumstances require special treatment. On the battlefield, things change in an instant, and opportunities are fleeting."

If Tie Xuan waits until he obtains the court's approval before sending troops, the round trip will take a long time, and then it will be too late.

Therefore, this matter is understandable.

He wasn't doing it for himself; he was doing it for the court.

Zhu Yunwen thought for a moment and said, "Then let's remove Tie Xuan from his position as Shandong Provincial Councilor and put him in charge of supervising the supply of grain."

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Suzhou military camp.

Chief eunuch Wang Yue was ordered to come and read out the imperial edict.

Zhu Yunwen knelt to receive the imperial edict.

"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Zhu Yunwen, having led troops to support Zhengding and achieved victory, has, however, privately conscripted troops from Jinan, violating the court's regulations."

They also breached the Hutuo River, causing significant losses to the people.

At the same time, given the ambiguous relationship with the Northern Yuan, Zhu Yunwen is hereby relieved of his post as Grand Commander of the Pacification of the North, but retains the title of General Who Conquers the Barbarians, to be at the forefront of the army. This is the imperial decree!

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great favor!"

Zhu Yunwen accepted the imperial edict, remaining calm and composed without saying a word.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ling'er was furious and berated Zhu Yunwen for his unclear system of rewards and punishments!

"In my opinion, Zhu Yunwen can't distinguish between good and bad."

Zhu Di led an army of 200,000 to besiege Zhengding. It looked like Zhengding was about to fall, but no one dared to send reinforcements.

If Yuntong and his maternal grandfather hadn't gone to Zhengding, Zhengding would have been captured by the Yan army long ago.

However, the imperial court only gave Zhu Yunwen a little over 3000 men.

But to ask him to fight against Zhu Di's 200,000-strong army, the difficulty is unimaginable.

This victory is already quite remarkable.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yunwen listened to the slander of treacherous officials, failing to distinguish between loyalty and treachery. Not only did he not reward him, but he even punished him! This is truly outrageous!

Chang Sheng was so angry that veins bulged on his forehead, his fists clenched, and his eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets: "What's the point of protecting a tyrannical and immoral ruler?"

Chang Yuchun glared at him: "Stop talking nonsense!"

When Chang Sheng saw that his adoptive father had spoken, he dared not say anything more.

Zhu Yunwen remained calm, seemingly unconcerned: "Eunuch Wang, it must have been tiring for you to travel back and forth in this heat."

Wang Yue smiled slightly: "King Wu, this is nothing."

I know it was difficult for you too; your victory at Zhending was already quite remarkable.

But, this old servant wishes to help you, yet is powerless to do so.

"Eunuch Wang, you're too kind. Actually, whether I become the Grand Commander of Pingbei or not doesn't really matter to me."

This was originally just an empty title.

His Majesty has given me the title of Governor-General of Pingbei, but not the real power.

Wang Yue nodded: "The King of Wu is truly open-minded."

Zhao Ling'er then asked, "Was it Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng's idea?"

Wang Yue then recounted the events discussed in the imperial court that time.

"I knew Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng were in cahoots, doing bad things. When faced with war and trouble, they were at a loss."

Yun-hu had finally achieved some success, but they were nitpicking.

Those two old geezers, they'd better watch out, they'll get what's coming to them!

Everyone was shocked to hear that Li Jinglong and Xu Huizu would be replacing Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying in guarding Zhen Ding.

Zhu Yunwen frowned: "How could Your Majesty make such an absurd decision?"

Although Geng Bingwen was old, he was experienced in combat and mature and prudent.

With the two of them guarding Zhending, it would be almost impossible for Zhu Di to conquer Zhending and cross the Yellow River.

Li Jinglong lacked combat experience and was only good at empty talk.

The Emperor appointed him as the commander of Zhen Ding. Isn't that too dangerous?

It might be better if Xu Huizu were the commander-in-chief and he were the deputy commander.

Wang Yue sighed: "Li Jinglong said he was a sharp awl, but the Emperor never put him in his pocket."

So, no one can see his sharpness.

Zhu Yunwen sighed deeply: "If I'm not mistaken, it won't be long before news of Zhen Ding's defeat arrives."

Later, Zhu Yunwen tried to persuade Wang Yue to stay for dinner.

"Thank you for your kindness, King of Wu. You, you should use your troops here wisely."

Although His Majesty has removed your title of Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Expedition, you are still the General Who Conquers the Barbarians.

In other words, your real power hasn't changed at all. Don't you understand this day and age?

Only when you have a strong and well-equipped army will you have a chance.

"His Majesty is waiting for this old servant to return and report. This old servant takes his leave."

After Wang Yue left, Zhao Ling'er blushed with anger: "I knew Zhu Yunwen had ill intentions."

Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng are even more insidious.

They want to use us, but they're also wary of us.

Every time we win a battle, instead of rewarding us, we are punished.

Chang Sheng also said, "This is why I left the court and came here. Staying in the capital and seeing those clowns jumping around like that annoyed me."

Chang Yuchun stroked his beard and said, "Wang Yue is right. We need to have troops. Strong and well-equipped troops are the most important thing. Without strength, others can do whatever they want to us."

Zhu Yunwen approached the sand table, crossed his arms, stared at it, and asked, "What do you think Li Jinglong will do after he arrives in Zhen Ding?"

If Zhu Di were to launch another attack on Zhengding, from where would he begin?

Zhao Ling'er shook her head: "Zhu Di is cunning and Yao Guangxiao is shrewd. Who can know where they will advance from?"

Besides, why do you care about those things?

If Zhu Di leads his troops to attack Zhending, even if Zhending falls, we will not go to its rescue.

Why go and rescue them?

Are we just going to wait to be punished again?

Perhaps next time, Zhu Yunwen will listen to the slander of those scoundrels.

They actually issued an order to cut off our heads.

That time, Geng Bingwen was going to give you Zhengding City and his 10-strong army; you might as well have accepted it.

Zhu Yunwen shook his head and gave a wry smile: "You're wrong. Even if I agreed to take it, the court wouldn't allow it. The court gave us 3500 men, and we thought that was too many; we gave them to us only after gritting our teeth."

How could Zhu Yunwen possibly hand over an army of 10 to me?

That is absolutely impossible.

He would rather let Li Jinglong squander it all than hand it over to me.

This time, however, I feel really bad for dragging Cheol-hyun into this mess.

night.

Zhu Yunwen's camp.

He was sitting at his desk, diligently writing "Dream of the Red Chamber".

He felt that he could only forget himself when he was fully immersed in writing a book.

He has become indifferent to fame and fortune.

At this moment, the curtain was lifted, and Wang Yuemin walked in from outside.

Zhu Yunwen looked up at her and, seeing her somewhat downcast expression, asked, "Princess, what's wrong?"

Wang Yuemin took out a letter from her bosom and handed it to Zhu Yunwen.

Zhu Yunwen opened it to watch.

That letter was written by Chaghan Temur to Wang Yuemin. The gist of the letter was:

The newly enthroned emperor suspected that Chahan Temur was harboring bandits and seeking to enhance his own power. Under the persuasion of sycophants, he ordered him to lead his troops back to the northern desert. Therefore, he urgently summoned Wang Yuemin back.

Wang Yumin's unauthorized troop deployment will be forgiven.

Zhu Yunwen looked at Wang Yuemin and asked, "You mean you're going back to the northern desert?"

Wang Yuemin nodded: "Yes, just as your Ming Dynasty's civil and military officials fight amongst themselves, so too does our Great Yuan Dynasty."

My father and elder brother commanded troops in the field for many years, and remained loyal to the Yuan Dynasty.

However, Wang Baobao suffered a defeat in Gansu some time ago, which gave rise to gossip. Those petty people in the capital kept spreading rumors and slanders before the new emperor.

This new emperor is not much different from the Second Emperor of Qin. He spends his days indulging in the inner palace and does not concern himself with the affairs of the court. In other words, the affairs of the court are decided by those sycophants.

Ah, those petty people are jealous of my father and brothers' power, so they're always finding fault with me.

"So it seems your father and brothers are also in a difficult situation now."

Wang Yuemin looked worried: "Yes, I've discovered that wherever there are people in this world, there will be intrigue and backstabbing."

My father fought for the Yuan Dynasty for most of his life, but what did he get in return?

We got nothing, didn't we?

There are always some treacherous officials and villains who slander my father and brother behind their backs.

Sometimes, they are truly driven to the brink of desperation.

Zhu Yunwen put down his pen and faced the beautiful woman before him.

He didn't know how to comfort Wang Yuemin.

He stood up, walked over to Wang Yuemin, and gently patted her shoulder: "Things will pass. In any case, you helped me a lot this time, and I want to thank you properly."

Unexpectedly, Wang Yuemin suddenly hugged Zhu Yuntong, pressed her firm breasts against his body, buried her head in his chest, and cried.

Zhu Yunwen immediately felt Wang Yuemin's heart pounding, and at the same time, a girl's fragrance wafted towards him: "Princess, what's wrong?"

Actually, I don't want to leave you.

Zhu Yuntong gently patted her back, then pushed her away.

"Yun-Teng, I can't bear to part with you. Don't you understand my feelings?"

Tonight is a beautiful night, I'll stay here with you.

"I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning." Wang Yuemin's eyes were filled with tenderness.

Zhu Yunwen shook his head and said, "No."

Wang Yuemin looked at Zhu Yunwen with her large eyes and asked, "Why not? Aren't you a man?"

Zhu Yunwen gave a bitter smile and then recounted to Wang Yuemin the incident where Zhao Ling'er had tried to stab him with a sword.

Wang Yuemin was also shocked after hearing this: "What did you say? Zhao Ling'er really has the heart to harm you?"

Zhu Yunwen nodded and said, "Judging from her expression, she's not joking."

Luckily, I dodged quickly; if I had been a fraction slower, she would have pierced a hole right through me.

Wang Yuemin sighed, "I never expected that Miss Zhao, who looks so gentle and weak, could be so frightening when she gets angry."

"That's right, so please stop hurting me."

Wang Yuemin smoothed her hair with her hand: "I sense that the Ming Dynasty court is prejudiced against you."

Logically speaking, since you achieved such a great victory with fewer troops, the imperial court should have rewarded you. How could they have removed your title of Grand Commander of the Northern Expedition?

Does this mean that Zhu Yunwen really intends to emulate Cao Rui of yesteryear?

When the Shu army arrived, he appointed Sima Yi as the Grand Commander of the Western Expedition.

After the Shu army retreated, he found a reason and an excuse to strip Sima Yi of all his official positions and send him back to his hometown.

"If I hadn't met my grandmother that time, I would have been executed. I've died several times, but I haven't died yet."

I'm already lucky to be alive.

Wang Yuemin covered Zhu Yunwen's mouth with her hand: "You're not allowed to say such unlucky things. Anyway, you have to be careful after I leave."

"I understand."

"There are still tens of thousands of pirates under Chen Zuyi along the southeast coast. They have already captured more than 50 cities. They could land at any time, attack cities and seize territories, burning, killing and looting, posing a threat to you."

Although you have recruited new soldiers, you lack horses, weapons, and armor.

These new recruits were all recruited by you privately, and you can't ask the imperial court for rations, horses, weapons, and armor.

"Yes!" Zhu Yunwen was also troubled by this matter.

It should be said that Zhao Ling'er and Chang Sheng did a very good job.

Zhao Ling'er recruited new soldiers, and Chang Sheng trained them day and night.

However, they lacked horses, weapons, and armor.

Moreover, Zhu Yunwen is currently very short of money and struggling financially.

Although planting some land might bring in some income, the crops aren't ready for harvest yet, so it won't solve the immediate problem.

Finally, Wang Yuemin said, "How about this, didn't I bring 5000 cavalrymen with me?"

I told them to leave all the horses, weapons, and armor to you.

I led them back to the northern desert on foot.

When I got back, I told my father that we had been ambushed by the Yan army. I figured he wouldn't do anything to me.

"How can that be?"

This place is very far from the northern desert. If you walk back, how many days will it take you?

Furthermore, what if they encounter Zhu Di's army?

Wang Yuemin smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. You may not know this, but our Yuan soldiers are not only good at riding horses, but they are also incredibly fast runners."

Don't laugh at me, but that's how our Yuan soldiers are, much like the Xiongnu of old. They win every battle, never lose, and maximize their profits.

If they win a battle, everyone rushes in to grab the spoils.

If they were defeated, they would scatter and flee for their lives, with no one caring for anyone else. If they were slow, they would be killed by the enemy. Therefore, their running speed might be no less than that of a male leopard!