Road (2)

The north is still thousands of miles away. At this moment, the south of the Yangtze River has entered the season of long-lasting bells and grass. All kinds of flowers are blooming in full bloom, trying to keep the passing spring. Wu'anguo stood on the balcony and looked away from the railing. The vast Niushou Mountain in the east brought poetry as cool as a poetic. As a member of the unnamed cabinet for several months, he still could not adapt to the role of a senior consultant. The several important orders issued by the Ming Dynasty in the spring of the 16th year of Hongwu were all from his ideas, but after these were handed by Zhu Yuanzhang and his ministers, they often became unrecognizable.

"It's better than nothing." Sometimes he had to comfort himself like this. He had to take advantage of the opportunity in this position to change the social basis bit by bit. After returning from the Northern Tour, Wu'anguo's heart became more firm. The Academy of Sciences was basically able to operate independently without his guidance, and talents recruited from all over the country devoted great enthusiasm to the research and development of new things. Among them, the most obvious result was agriculture. The shadow of last year's famine gave the research on agriculture the greatest capital tilt, and the improved Chameng rice seeds were the product of this kind of silver piled up. This research was originally started at the beginning of the establishment of the Academy of Sciences. According to the experience of Wu'anguo, the actual promotion of an excellent variety must be carried out after several years of experiments to avoid risks. However, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't wait and immediately decided after seeing the rice ears sent by the doctors.

A month ago, Li Shanping's posthumous book "Four-legged Accounting Method and Third-Person Verification" was successfully published. Zhu Yuanzhang personally wrote a postscript for the book. Because Li Shanping himself died for the country for heroic sacrifice, Jiangnan Confucians, who have always been picky about new things in Peking, deliberately remained silent this time. In the Confucian classics, loyal ministers and filial sons are the most respectable. Only Wu Anguo knows that whether it is Li Shanping, Li Ling, or the Wang Feiyu who has caused countless controversies, they are probably not the Zhu family dynasty, and this dynasty may not be worthy of their loyalty and filial piety. What they are loyal is the land and the people who have survived for generations on this land.

The original accounting method fully reflects trust in people, while the new accounting rules express doubts about human nature. The emergence of independent verification parties even more neglects the principle that human nature is good. Some visionary scholars have seen this point but have no strength or courage to object, and they don’t have much time to object. This accounting method has been circulated among the people from north to south. Jiangnan merchants, who have always been good at calculating, have quietly begun to implement this method, but no one dares to stand up and blatantly applaud this accounting method. This time the court came forward, and the merchants immediately seized the opportunity to vigorously promote it. In less than a month, this book "Four-legged Account Recording and Third-Person Verification" has been placed on the desks of shopkeepers in the capital. Even Wu Anguo himself did not expect that this primitive double accounting method could be so easily penetrated into the hearts of the people.

Compared with the issuance of books, the establishment of independent audit institutions has been quite complicated. In addition to the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice, both the Six Ministry and the Ministry of Justice have a relationship with the treasury expenditure, and it is not appropriate to place the treasury agency in anyone's name. If the audit agency is placed in the Ministry of Personnel, it will overlap with some functions of the Ministry of Personnel. After hearing so many news about the corruption and abuse of power, Zhu Yuanzhang had long lost confidence in the basic functions of the Ministry of Personnel's assessment officials and firmly rejected this proposal. The suggestion of the Ministry of Justice was strongly opposed by the ministers headed by Wu'anguo. They believed that this would easily turn some stolen things into formal charges. The Ministry of Justice has always been known for its strictness, and it is their specialty to build false guilt. After the quarrels, Zhu Yuanzhang was annoyed, so he simply adopted Zhou Wuyou's advice to establish an audit department separately, which specifically verified the treasury expenditure and was directly responsible to the emperor himself.

"The Jinyiwei and the Audit Office are my hands and ears. Let's see who dares to die under my nose." During the chat, Zhu Yuanzhang was very proud of his own creativity.

In an era when imperial power is supreme, father, son and brother cannot believe it, let alone ministers, the most ruthless imperial family.

When he was young, Zhu Di stood timidly under the yellow-fat horse, which was half a piece taller than himself, with a bruised nose and swollen face. His clothes had been wiped into many places, and bloodstains were oozing from the opening. The neighing yellow-fat horse raised its hooves and swollen sand and dust filled his hair.

"Go on the horse", Zhu Yuanzhang, who was covered in clothes, sat upright and scolded loudly, pointing his whip straight at Zhu Di's forehead, with no warmth in his eyes.

"Father, I can't get up"! Zhu Di whispered, stretching out his little hand with aggrieved look on his face and wiping the mud mixed with blood and sweat on his face.

"Go on the horse"! The whip whipped heavily on the grass beside Zhu Di. The clearest part of the dust that spread was the silver cold light of iron armor, "You are my Zhu Yuanzhang's son"! You don't have to think about it, the face behind the armor must be as cold as steel.

"Your Majesty, he is still a child." Queen Ma jumped off the horse with heartache, hugged Zhu Di pitifully, and patted the soil on the child with gentle hands.

"Bang", the whip was swung crisply into the air. Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at Queen Ma with the tip of the whip and shouted angrily: "Get out of the way, let him get on the horse, who made him the son of my Zhu Yuanzhang?"

Empress Ma glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang and finally made a cautious move away. The second brother and the third brother ran around the three of them happily, turned their backs to Zhu Yuanzhang, and mischievously grimaced at Zhu Di and stuck out his tongue.

Prince Zhu Biaoce immediately stepped forward, leaned forward and smiled, reached out to hold Zhu Di, "Fourth brother, it's fun on the horse's back. Try again, try again, I'll pull you."

Zhu Di looked around helplessly, pushed away his brother's hand, grabbed the reins of the Huang Pima horse, picked up the horse's back, climbed onto the horse's back, and fell down from the other side. Huang Pima sniffled uneasyly, and four hooves moved back and forth.

"Get up, get on the horse"! The sound of urging people to death.

The short body got up, walked to the left side of the horse, picked up the pedal, climbed up, and fell down.

Recognize the kick again and fall down again.

....

"Get on the horse, remember, you are my Zhu Yuanzhang's son."

"You are the son of my Zhu Yuanzhang"! A voice without warmth echoes between heaven and earth.

"You are the son of my Zhu Yuanzhang! You are the son of Zhu Yuanzhang"!

"Child, child, you are my Bart, the hero should make the most favorable choice for him." The mother's gentle gaze is unforgettable, and that gaze makes people feel warm.

Suddenly, the other side of the mountain was hustle and a group of Mongolian horses came to him like thunder. Zhu Di pulled out his sword and cut over the big guy who rushed towards him. A group of cavalry and another group of cavalry ran over, and the valley was filled with Mongolians. The sword lights, yelling, the bowstrings sounded, and the blood vessels were cut open in the wind. There were no guards around him. Zhu Qi, who had grown up with him since childhood, fell into the soil, and the red hot air spurted Lao Gao.

"Boy, surrender." A large Mongolian man with a fleshy face rushed over with a grin and knocked Zhu Di's sword to the ground.

"I am Zhu Yuanzhang's son, I am Zhu Yuanzhang's son." Zhu Di shouted, shouting, and grabbed the other party's blade with his hands.

"Your Highness, wake up. Your Highness, wake up." Who is calling me? The voice of help sounded in my ears in time. Opening my eyes was the handsome face of the commander of the Guards Brigade Zhang Zhengxin.

Zhu Di looked at his closest subordinates and tried hard to press the heart that was jumping to his throat back to his chest. After a while, he asked weakly: "What time is the right time for Zhengxin?"

"At 7 o'clock in the morning, the 7 o'clock here is darker than Peking. We didn't use sundials to check the local time, but we still used the numbers from Peking." Zhang Zhengxin replied in a low voice, calling Zhu Di's personal eunuch and asking him to wipe the cold sweat from Zhu Di's forehead.

"Your Highness, you have a nightmare again. If you feel too tired, I will inform everyone to take a break today and cancel the morning's meeting." Xu Zengshou asked with some distress, His Highness King Yan has been too difficult these days.

"No, let's follow the rules, Shouren, help me put on my clothes." Zhu Di sighed and whispered to the little eunuch to wait for him to change clothes and wash.

Zhang Zhengxin walked to the window of the felt tent, opened the curtains, and let the early spring sunshine of the grassland shine in. It was already March, and the ice and snow had not melted away. The light-bumping forests in the distance were emitting a faint blue smoke, which was the leaves that were about to grow. The smoke from the cooking stoves was curling nearby, and the sound of the soldiers neatly broke the tranquility of spring.

"General Xu, do you think I am a Han person?" Looking at himself in the mirror, Zhu Di asked uneasyly as if he was talking to himself.

"Yes, Your Highness is an absolute Han man. If anyone slanders Your Highness, I will rush up and fight with him." Xu Zengshou answered frankly.

"Where are you?" Zhu Di turned his face to Zhang Zhengxin.

Zhang Zhengxin took a few steps forward, regardless of the difference in identity, pressed his hand on Zhu Di's newly developed shoulder, "No matter who you are, you are our Highness, in the wind and fire, we will always stand with you"!

The eunuch with the army went out to move a dining table, quickly set up three pairs of bowls and chopsticks, and the kitchen delivered steaming rice porridge and a few dishes of Jiangnan side dishes.

Zhu Di greeted Xu Zengshou and Zhang Zhengxin to sit down, and the three of them had a meal together. The sunlight shining into the tent gradually brightened, making the tree shadows on the map opposite the window mottled. On the map, a blue line and a red line cut the Mongolian grassland from the south and the north like scissors. The Zhenbei Army penetrated from Liaodong to behind the grassland, forming a sharp blade. The Andong Army and the Weibei Army formed another sharp blade on the south side of the grassland. The double blades were opposite the thousands of miles of wilderness between Yingchang and Nanhelin.

The three of them were having breakfast in a heavy mood, and their eyes moved along the map with Zhu Di's head.

"General Shu Chi was not favored by Genghis Khan at that time, but his horse hooves conquered the other end of the snow-capped mountain." Xu Zengshou shook his head and shook off his dangerous thoughts. These days, the various actions of the court have indeed made King Yan feel disappointed.

Last fall, Lord Wu'anguo stabilized Beiping. The Zhenbei Army, which was fully supplied, crossed the Jinshan garrison and moved westward. It was as powerful as a rock. It captured more than ten Mongolian cities and captured countless princes and nobles. It stopped until the severe winter came and retreated to the vicinity of Beihelin to rest. With the reputation of a hundred battles, General Chang Mao led a reorganized army south to cooperate with Tang He and Puying to defeat the Mongolian Eastern Route Army, captured Naiqie alive, and relieved the Mongols' threat to the Daning Rehe area. According to Zhu Yuanzhang's promise to his sons before the Northern Expedition, the eastern Mongolian region should have been the King of Yan, but because of the participation of Tang and the tens of thousands of people, the Daning area was under the jurisdiction of King Ning. The Ning Wang was only five years old and had to ask someone to help untie the belt with the toilet.

If Zhu Yuanzhang only favored his youngest son, it would be fine. The spring of the 16th year came, and it was a great opportunity for the two troops in the north and the two armies of Andong to attack Mongolia. Zhu Di was eager to wait for Chang Mao to join forces to return to the army, who had been divided into the south last year. Unexpectedly, the Ministry of War issued a transfer order, and an elite division who should have returned to the team, together with the main general, was transferred to Datong and the establishment of the Weibei Army. That was the family that Zhu Di had managed to manage for many years. The total number of troops in the Zhenbei Army was added together.

Including Su Ceyu's independent brigade, it is only the size of the Fourth Division and the Third Brigade, and one division must be divided to intimidate all parts of Liaodong. As soon as Chang Mao left, the only troops that King Yan dared to mobilize were two divisions and three brigades. Among them, Su Ceyu's independent brigade was still the source of wealth for the Northern Army. The Liao-Mongolian Union relied on this force to maintain efficient operation and could not be moved lightly until the critical moment. Just relying on the little people in his hand to flatten the entire grassland? Zhu Di couldn't help but smile bitterly at himself.

"Life-enhancing, how long can you use our supplies?" After being stunned at the map, Zhu Di asked in a low voice.

Xu Zengshou spread his eyebrows and replied calmly: "It can support it for about a month. The ammunition consumed in the autumn last year has been basically replenished. The food and grass are still a little short. The northern route is not easy to walk. In the morning, the Jinshan Ministry sent us 1,500 sheep, but now it is so thin that you can see bones. When the grass buds grow, you can only get enough food to catch the fat." The supplies go to the northern route from Weiqingbao and Qidianbao. The wind is strong since the beginning of spring, and the transportation team is easy to disperse. Once you get lost, you will die. Therefore, the supply of the Northern Army encountered some difficulties. Zhu Di and Xu Zeng

Shou unanimously agreed that the main force of Zhenbei Army should go south to the Daning area and accept the materials transported from Liaoyang and Rehe, but the court rejected this suggestion. It is obvious that Zhu Yuanzhang did not want any army to be strong enough to make the court uneasy, even if the leader of this army was his biological son. The transfer of powerful general Chang Mao may have been due to this consideration, but can he still maintain his original courage and invincibility when transferred to the Weibei Army? The tragedy of Li Ling was right in front of him. Didn’t Zhu Yuanzhang want to demolish the foundation of Wu'an Kingdom? Can Li Ling and Wang Feiyu suffer a tragic disaster?

Imperial House, who knows what the Imperial House means? This time the emperor used his own son. Zhu Di smiled bitterly, suppressed the frustration in his heart, and turned his attention to the map near Liaoyang. After a few years of operation, Liaoyang was like a small microcosm of Peking, and various industries have initially possessed their own characteristics. Some places are more thorough than Peking. If the foundation is moved to Liaoyang, it may be a good choice, but I don’t know what my father meant, and I plan to let the newly enfeoffed Liao King’s younger brother take charge of how much territory it is.

No matter what, the imperial edict from the court said that the Liao king should be controlled by the King of Yan. On the map, from Beiping to Liaoyang, a faint black line crossed mountains and ridges, and immediately approached Liaoyang City. It was a cement road contracted and built by the Zhan brothers' merchants. If this road is built, a large number of materials can be quickly transported from Beiping to Liaoyang by four-wheeled carriages, and the supply burden of the earthquake-stealing northern army will be greatly reduced. The soldiers who stayed in the Liaoyang area can also be greatly reduced, because once something happens, soldiers can be quickly mobilized along the road and eliminate all dangers in the bud.

After gestured on the map out of thin air, Zhu Di asked again: "What are the Zhan brothers busy with now? Didn't they promise to start construction in the beginning of spring and make the roads clear before the beginning of autumn this year?"

"The road should be fine. The prisoners who built the road were redeemed by the Goryeo people, but General Cao sent a group of Japanese pirates with a ship, which were all convicted by their own country. They had to be sentenced to hard work for more than ten years before they could be pardoned." When talking about the road, Xu Zengshou had some confidence. Last year, Goryeo changed its name to Korea, and Li Chenggui officially became the king. In order to win the hearts of the people, Li Chenggui sent envoys to redeem a large number of Goryeo prisoners of war who built the road. The road construction project was once in a hurry. Fortunately, at the beginning of this year, Lord Cao Zhen forced Japan to sign a city alliance, and the shogunate general Ashikaga Yoshimoto was in charge of the water division.

Withdraw troops as soon as possible, and arrested many residents of the coastal areas of Jiuzhou to serve as Japanese pirates. Cao Zhen did not ask whether it was true or false. He sent them to Liaodong for hard labor. Tens of thousands of people were loaded with twenty ships. Xu Zengshou, referring to Zhu Di's previous practice, rented all the Japanese pirates to the Zhan brothers as road construction workers, earning a lot of military expenditure for the Northern Army. "Those Japanese are really mean. If you treat him well, he will step on his nose and put your sword to intimidate him. Instead, he will kneel on the ground obediently, stick out his neck for you to chop, and look glorious." Xu Zengshou said while pretending to show a bear-like appearance of Japanese pirates.

Zhu Di and were amused by Xu Zengshou's words and postures, and the atmosphere in the room was slightly relaxed.

"That should be their domestic regulations. General Song Ting wrote that the rules there were quite strange. The warrior killed people in the street. It was polite to wait for death, otherwise they would be condemned by everyone." Zhang Zhengxin added.

"It would be great if Mongolia was so easily conquered." The three of them brought the topic back to the current situation. Genghis Khan's empire was like a centipede worm, which died without being stiff. It was easy to sweep the grassland, but it was too difficult to swallow it in one bite. Maybe it would be better to beat the front foot and throw it away, and make the clothes for others when they were married.

"Your Highness, do you remember the meetings of various ministries in Liaoyang last year? The timing is right. Should we use the power of various ministries in Liaodong to save them from having enough food?" Xu Zengshou proposed carefully. Since the Goryeo people were driven away, the Liaodong ministries have been engaged in development business with the Peking Merchants with their land and materials. Many tribal leaders are so rich that they sleep on the pile of gold. The ministries are grateful or deliberately flattering, and provide support to the Zhenbei Army. If Zhu Di calls on them to send troops to Mongolia together, no one will refuse. After all, this battle is a battle of victory or defeat. The time may take longer, but the final result is obvious.

Zhu Di shook his head gently, "No, we can't find any reason to cut off the private soldiers of those tribes, so how can we give them another chance to grow? After all, the population of the tribes in the three new provinces outside the pass is far more than that of our Han people."

This is true. The various forces in Liaobei are complicated and the consequences of easily changing the status quo are difficult to predict. Xu Zengshou realized that he had a bad idea and bowed his head and fell into deep thought. With the power of the Northern Army, the strength of the three provinces outside the pass, and with...? What can be relied on now is now all the ambitions to seal the wolf Juxu when he was young. Now that he really fought here, he realized how helpless he would be to achieve higher goals after sealing the wolf Juxu.

"Your Highness, can we use the Mongolians who defected to you to use your current identity? Anyway, your identity is a pool of mixed water, so we might as well make it more complicated for him?" Zhang Zhengxin suddenly said.

Zhu Di was stunned and looked up at his young and brave general in confusion. The latter looked at him fearlessly, and the expression in his eyes clearly said: "Anyway, you can't escape half of the Mongolians, so you might as well use this identity more."

Xu Zengshou was also shocked by this bold suggestion and asked suspiciously: "Be honest, let's make it clear, are you talking about letting the Kingsoft Warriors participate in the war."

Zhang Zhengxin nodded, "It's not just the Jinshan tribes, but also the newly pacified Mongolians in the southeast of the desert, but also the Wengniut tribes, Bahrain tribes, Qiyete tribes, and Naiman tribes..." Zhang Zhengxin, as he knew everything, counted as he was aware of the Mongolians, "We use the Mongols to conquer the Mongols and let each tribe make some military achievements, it's best that no one will convince anyone."

"Yes"! Xu Zengshou immediately learned the value of this suggestion and echoed excitedly: "Your Highness, let's go to the Onon River Conference again. You made an appointment with them as brothers. Genghis Khan said, don't pinch heroes in the nest, there are endless grasslands and women in the world."
Chapter completed!