In October of the 14th year of Zhengzheng, Tuotuo led an army of 400,000 to the south. It was said to be a million troops, with banners flying thousands of miles, and gongs and drums shaking the fields. The army was so prosperous that it had never been seen before!
At this moment, it seems that the Mongol Empire that swept across Europe and Asia and wiped out 40 countries is back.
All the heroes in the Central Plains were fearful, trembling, and uneasy.
Liu Futong, who was the first to raise the flag of rebellion, was trapped in Henan by the Yuan army. He was surrounded by the Yuan army and the landlords' armed forces, and was struggling.
Xu Shouhui, the great emperor of Tianwan who had proclaimed himself the emperor and established his country, was not having a good time either. His attack on Hangzhou failed, and his military advisor Peng Yingyu was killed in the battle. He had no choice but to retreat to the Han River Basin and barely protect himself.
There are not many people left in the group who first rebelled.
Even Guo Zixing in Huaiyuan has fallen ill and his health is getting worse day by day.
At this moment, all the eyes of the world fell on the land of Huaihe River.
If it can be held back, the Red Turban Uprising still has a chance. If it cannot be held back, the massive Red Turban Uprising will probably disappear.
Luo Guanzhong took the gold, carried the letter from King Cheng Zhang Shicheng, and shouldered the hope of the world, and once again set foot in Chuzhou to ask for an audience with Zhu Yuanzhang.
At this moment, Lao Zhu is dealing with autumn grain matters in Chuzhou. His old friend is here again. Do you want to see him or not? Should he and Zhang Shicheng join forces?
Zhu Yuanzhang once again summoned several of his civil servants to discuss countermeasures.
Including Jia Lu, everyone was present. Everyone was in a very heavy mood, and there was no smile on their serious faces. After all, an army of hundreds of thousands rolling in is like a Mount Tai, hitting you, and any flesh and blood will be killed.
The body will turn into powder.
This is something no one can stop!
"Lord, since no one is willing to talk, let me just say that for Zhang Shicheng, we can only rent it and absolutely cannot buy it. If I want to say how to deal with Zhang Shicheng's request, it is that we will provide all support except help!
"
Any support other than help is just a no-brainer!
It took everyone a long time to react. Did we understand correctly?
Zhang Ximeng directly threw a critical attack. Even Jia Lu was dumbfounded. Wasn't this kid frightened? Why was he just talking nonsense?
"Tuotuo attacks Gaoyou. Once he succeeds and Zhang Shicheng is pulled out, we will be next. It's obvious that the lips are dead and the teeth are cold." Jia Lu didn't say any more, but everyone could hear the accusation.
Zhang Ximeng smiled slightly and said, "Theoretically speaking, it is true that our lips are dead and our teeth are cold, but can we and Zhang Shicheng be considered to be dependent on each other? Is Zhang Shicheng reliable? He accepted Yuan Ting's surrender when he first raised his troops.
, later he became dissatisfied with his junior position, so he rebelled again. Now he is king in Gaoyou, facing the Yuan army moving south, he is in danger. He sent an envoy to beg us, can he really be trusted? What if he sends troops there and is betrayed by Zhang Shicheng? "
It is true to cooperate to fight against the Yuan army, but what Zhang Ximeng said is also true. Can Zhang Shicheng be trusted?
Both sides have their own agendas, but if they join forces, can they defeat the Yuan army?
Maybe because they were suspicious of each other and couldn't cooperate tacitly, the Yuan army defeated them one by one and gave people food.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it again and again, but he was not as enthusiastic as he was at first, but he still couldn't make up his mind.
"Sir, what you said makes sense, but the Yuan army is now so powerful that if Zhang Shicheng can't hold it back, we will definitely be implicated..."
Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "My lord, Zhang Shicheng is a private salt dealer. He has a flexible moral bottom line. He was condescending and asked us to submit, and now he is praying for an alliance with heavy gifts. He is arrogant at first and respectful at the end, and it is like turning the pages of a book.
Such a person will not risk his life if we do not force him into a corner. If we agree to form an alliance, he will resort to tricks and scheming to push us ahead and divert trouble to the west. If we do not form an alliance with him, we will leave him alone.
On the other hand, forcing him to go all out and risk his life against the Yuan army, he might even be able to unleash his will to survive and really defeat the Yuan army!"
After listening to Zhang Ximeng's words, Jia Lu felt incredible. Unless a miracle happened, Zhang Shicheng had no chance.
Moreover, when analyzing the battle situation earlier, Zhu Yuanzhang had already decided on the policy of going all out to deal with the Yuan army, and Zhang Ximeng was the main advocate.
Now facing Zhang Shicheng's prayer, Zhang Ximeng's words are completely contradictory and contradictory!
"Lord, what I mean is this, how to prepare for war, how to prepare for war, and what strategies to use. We and the Yuan army will definitely have to fight for life and death, but we will not cooperate with Zhang Shicheng."
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but fell into deep thought. It stands to reason that in the face of a powerful enemy, if someone wants to cooperate, it is naturally the best thing to do to warm each other!
But Zhang Ximeng was opposed to cooperation and wanted to fight alone.
Fortunately, Zhang Ximeng has been very good at everything and has never made any mistakes, otherwise no one would listen to him.
What should we do?
Faced with this deadlock, Zhang Ximeng suddenly said: "My lord, how about this? Call Xu Da and others to discuss it together!"
Let the general come over?
Are they also qualified to discuss military and state affairs?
Li Shanchang raised his eyebrows, but he hesitated again and again and did not say anything. He just let you Zhang Ximeng toss it around. What if you mess up?
Lao Zhu thought for a while and agreed. After all, Xu Da and others were confidants. There was no harm in listening to their ideas.
Not long after, thousands of households headed by Tang He and Xu Da came to the lobby and briefly explained the discussion to see what their opinions were.
Unexpectedly, Xu Da and Feng Guoyong stood up on their own initiative, "Come on, Mr. Zhang has a great talk, just listen to him!"
Lao Zhu asked calmly: "Why do you say that?"
Xu Da and Feng Guoyong looked at it. Xu Da first said: "Come on, the Yuan army has too many soldiers and horses. No matter how many soldiers and horses we send, once they enter Gaoyou territory, they will just hit the stone with an egg. Even if Zhang Shicheng is not evil, there is nothing we can do."
Yuan Army. On the contrary, only in Chuzhou and Hezhou, our own territory, can we fight a decisive battle with the Yuan Army! After all, the people's hearts are with me!"
Feng Guoyong also nodded vigorously and said: "Please think about it, superiors. If Zhang Shicheng can defend Gaoyou, the most he can do is to send partial troops to attack us. If Zhang Shicheng cannot defend, we will form an alliance with him. Zhang Shicheng will be defeated with his remaining troops and will retreat."
When we get to Chuzhou, should we pick him up or not?"
"If you accept Zhang Shicheng, the Yuan soldiers will definitely come after you. If you don't, it will destroy the friendship between allies. Even if you take a step back, even if the Yuan army defeats Zhang Shicheng, they may not necessarily come to attack us. There is really no way.
Can we still make peace with the Yuan Dynasty and delay time? The Yuan Dynasty soldiers are more powerful, but the stronger the men are, the more they eat. Don't think that this time Tuo Tuo will bring down the country's soldiers and defeat the red scarf in one fell swoop. I dare say
He is just talking nonsense! The Yuan Dynasty has enough food and salary, so why wait until today?"
Feng Guo made everyone suddenly understand with some words.
Xu Da also added: "Yuan Ting has assembled many soldiers and horses from the Western Regions. I learned from Wu Datou that these soldiers and horses are afraid of the heat. It is October now, and they will not be able to continue fighting after March or April next year.
, we must return to the north to escape the summer heat. If Zhang Shicheng can withstand for two or three months, the pressure on us will not be that great. We only need to beware of the Yuan army in the south of the Yangtze River."
…
The views of the two generals were completely different from those of the literati. Even Zhang Ximeng was very different from them. In their view, in order to delay time, they could even make peace with Yuan Ting.
This is very military.
Just focus on the battlefield and don't think much about other things. Anyway, it will be beneficial to you.
In their opinion, they can push Zhang Shicheng to the front and consume the Yuan army first. If necessary, they can even show goodwill to Yuan Ting to confuse the enemy and buy themselves time.
In the eyes of the literati who were divided between Han and traitors, these ideas were unscrupulous and deviant.
It turns out that martial artists are immoral!
But if you think about it carefully, it might not be a solution.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for longer than before, and he did not come to a conclusion immediately.
Instead, he said: "Xu Da, Feng Guoyong, Tang and you, when there is a major military situation in the future, you can also discuss it!"
The military generals have gained the power to participate in decision-making. Although these thousands of households still don't understand what it means, they are in a good mood.
Moreover, among the civil servants, only Mr. Zhang agreed with them. Naturally, they felt that Zhang Ximeng was more approachable. Mr. Zhang was really great!
Although Zhu Yuanzhang did not finalize the strategy, no one paid attention to Luo Guanzhong. He simply threw him aside and no one paid attention to him.
Is Luo Guanzhong miserable when he lives in an inn?
On the contrary, his happiness is unimaginable to outsiders.
He had a huge sum of three thousand taels of gold in his hands. If Zhu Yuanzhang didn't see him, he wouldn't be able to give it away, so it would have to be his little treasury.
You can eat whatever you want and drink whatever you want.
Luo Guanzhong took over a whole courtyard in one go, and also found two girls to accompany him.
Red sleeves add fragrance, and I write all night long.
Accompanied by a beautiful woman with fragrant tea, in the dead of night, with literary thoughts flowing freely, Luo Guanzhong felt that all the artistic bubbles in his body were sublimated. The teacher wrote "Water Margin", and he will definitely surpass the teacher and write an even more amazing work!
Luo Guanzhong went out to watch a theater during the day. He chased Wu Datou's troupe, and wherever he performed, he regarded it as a gathering of talents.
Then I go back to write a book in the evening, and joke with beauties when I have free time. I live such a life that even platinum gold would be envious and coveted!
What is King Cheng? Just pretend he doesn’t exist.
It's just that there are some things that even Zhang Ximeng couldn't predict... "Come on, something bad has happened. Zhao Jun used this thief to surrender to Yuan Ting!"
"What?"
After receiving the news, everyone in Chuzhou was shocked, including Zhu Yuanzhang. They had been calculating the strength of the Yuan army and thinking of ways to deal with it, but they never thought that Zhao Junyong could betray the Red Scarf and join the Yuan court.
"Is the news reliable?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.
Guo Ying explained: "The superior, this is the news sent by a guard around Zhao Junyong. He said that Zhao Junyong is willing to serve as a forward for the Yuan army, and Tuotuo's younger brother Timur also led an army of 100,000 people first.
Behind him, they plan to divide their forces to attack the Chuzhou Red Scarves first, that is, us!"
The Yuan army actually wanted to attack Chuzhou and Gaoyou at the same time!
First of all, Timur was Tuotuo's younger brother and the imperial censor of the Yuan Dynasty.
He commands a hundred thousand soldiers and horses, his combat power cannot be underestimated, and he can also echo Tuotuo and advance together.
The pressure it brings can be imagined.
Whether it was several civil servants who advocated an alliance with Zhang Shicheng, Zhang Ximeng who advocated sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight, or several generals, they all did not expect that the Yuan army would be so powerful and directly divide their troops to advance!
Speaking of which, Zhu Yuanzhang developed too fast. He promoted the strategy of eliminating powerful people, which touched the interests of some big families. They desperately sent letters to the Yuan Dynasty, hoping that the imperial court would send troops to destroy Zhu Yuanzhang.
Tuotuo got the news, and the Yuan army was so powerful that Zhao Junyong surrendered, so he simply asked his brothers to send troops and killed Zhu Yuanzhang.
It's just a walk and it doesn't take much effort.
In an instant, all the pressure fell on Zhu Yuanzhang.
What is the head of the family? He is the one who makes the final decision!
Whether it is life or death, any consequences must be shouldered by him!
Zhu Yuanzhang, what should we do?
Snapped!
Lao Zhu slapped the table, stood up suddenly, looked around, laughed loudly, and said loudly to everyone:
"In all the wars in which the weak defeated the strong, the stronger side was arrogant and complacent, thinking that it would win! Now, relying on the strength of its troops, it actually detached a force to destroy Chuzhou. He seeks death himself, and we will help him!"
Lao Zhu's confident words immediately changed everyone's worries.
And his attitude inspired everyone, including Zhang Ximeng. This ability to see opportunities in danger is the style of the founding ancestor!
Zhang Ximeng immediately had an idea, "My lord, since Zhao Junyong has become Yuan Ting's lackey, we must kill this dog first to give the Yuan army a disincentive!"
