"My lord, it's very different now than when we just crossed the river. We not only occupied Jinling, but also the surrounding counties and towns. East of Poyang Lake, west of Taihu Lake, and south to Ganzhou... In terms of territory, it may not be as good as Tian
It is huge, but densely populated and rich in products. In terms of strength, it is already quite extraordinary. Although it is not good to be proud and complacent, it is even more inappropriate to belittle oneself. From the perspective of strength, we still have the capital to become the king."
"Moreover, now Liu Futong's three-pronged Northern Expedition has been completed. In the direction of Shandong, across the land of Qilu, Mao and Guizhou are advancing vigorously. The West Route Army has entered Guanzhong, and the Central Route Army is also plotting Hebei and Hedong... Regardless of whether Liu Futong can succeed, at least the Yuan Army and
Neither Han nor Song Dynasty have the energy to take care of us. The only opponents we need to deal with are Zhang Shicheng, Xu Shouhui, Fang Guozhen, Chen Youding and a few others..."
"Fang Guozhen is just a water bandit, and Chen Youding has no ambitions. They are just Zhang Shicheng and Tianwan Xu Shouhui."
Lao Zhu's eyes flickered and his voice was low, "Although these two are not considered to be extraordinary men, they still have some strength and can still support each other at the moment. If they become kings, they will definitely cooperate even more closely."
Zhang Ximeng cannot deny, "What the Lord said is absolutely true. Becoming king will still cause quite a stir, including Liu Futong's side. It's hard to say whether Liu Futong will fall out... This is the price of becoming king. But there are also benefits to being king.
That is to show our banner, make our proposition clear, and call on the talents of the world. We are expelling the barbarians and dividing the land equally. If we cannot show enough determination, we will really encounter difficulties."
"In the final analysis, becoming king has risks and benefits. The heavy burden lies on the lord. What decision should be made depends entirely on the lord's wishes. I will definitely support it."
Hearing the last sentence, Lao Zhu laughed, "It's like this again, putting the most difficult things on our heads, Mr. Zhang, you are so dishonest."
Zhang Ximeng chuckled and didn't take it seriously, "My lord, I must be the kind of scholar who likes to make decisions! I have all kinds of ideas, and my lord must appreciate them before I can truly implement them. Every critical moment, my lord must make a decision. This
It’s also the lord’s responsibility!”
Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled, and then his face gradually became serious again. He chewed the word "responsibility" repeatedly, and finally said: "Mr. Zhang, you go ahead and let us think about it ourselves."
Zhang Ximeng left obediently without any more nonsense.
In fact, he often asks himself, obviously he can see the future, which means he has a strategy in hand, and he can draw the gourd according to the same pattern. Isn't it true that he can't do it?
In other words, the time traveler really cannot defeat the son of the plane?
Apart from summoning a meteor shower, what else is missing?
For now, Zhu Jiajun is definitely much stronger than in history, but the question is, with these strengths, can he become the king a few years earlier?
Historically, Zhu Yuanzhang eradicated his biggest enemy in life after defeating Chen Youliang at Poyang Lake. The following year, under the persuasion of Li Shanchang and others, he ascended to the throne of Wu King, and then killed Zhang Shicheng and proclaimed himself emperor.
Now that the two major rivals are still here, will there be an uncontrollable situation if they claim the title early?
For example, Chen Youliang immediately marched to Jinling to avenge his previous humiliation.
For another example, is Liu Futong still willing to continue to form an alliance, continue to serve as Lao Zhu's vanguard, and honestly carry out the Northern Expedition?
Zhang Ximeng does not have the answers to these things. Only by doing them can he understand.
And the Zhu Jiajun has reached this day, and it really needs to clean up the dregs inside. It should have an attitude towards a big family like the Liu family that has lasted for hundreds of years.
Not only the Liu family, but also the Qin family, the Pu family, and even the descendants of saints from Qufu... Although the descendants of the Qin family are not all thieves, they even have a little sense of shame and sparkle.
The influence of scholar-bureaucrats represented by these families that continues to this day is something that the Zhu Jiajun must deal with.
If we don't solve them, how can we equalize the land? Where is the fairness?
All parties inside and outside are intertwined, and Zhang Ximeng may be able to sort out clues, but when things are intertwined, how to make decisions is not what Zhang Ximeng is good at.
When it comes to weighing the trade-offs, between gains and losses, I'm afraid only the Sacred Heart can make the final decision.
The night passed in a blink of an eye. Zhang Ximeng lay on his back all night and slept soundly, because he knew that all he had to do was wait for the result.
Zhu Yuanzhang, on the other hand, had no sleep all night and asked Zhang Ximeng to come over the next morning without even eating.
"Sir, you are right. We have responsibilities on our shoulders. We should not evade them. We should be kings so that we can live up to the hearts of the people and soldiers!"
Lao Zhu's voice was not high-pitched, even a little hoarse, but to Zhang Ximeng's ears, it was as loud as gold and jade, and a relieved smile appeared on his face.
After all, Zhu Yuanzhang will not disappoint anyone. He carries the country on his iron shoulders. He is indeed a true man.
Lao Zhu has taken a big step forward and officially proclaimed himself the king. People like them don't have to be embarrassed. The academy, history museum, etc. can all be upgraded. It is truly arranged according to the center of a country... Naturally, Zhang Ximeng's status can also be promoted.
A big chunk.
Moreover, Zhang Ximeng is also brewing a big event, which can be said to be enough to subvert the rules of officialdom.
If it can be realized smoothly, there is a high probability that the Ming Dynasty will be able to exist for a longer time in the future.
But it still needs to be formally established as a country before it can be taken out, and the time is not ripe now.
All in all, as long as Lao Zhu is king, he can start to do a lot of things.
"Don't be too happy for now. We will announce it to the public after we win Hangzhou."
Zhang Ximeng was startled and said hurriedly: "Yes! I know."
Zhu Yuanzhang paused and then added, "Although it will take some time, after becoming the king, the official arrangements, rules and regulations... sir, can all be planned. You have to handle this matter, so we can rest assured!"
Zhang Ximeng was startled again and quickly replied: "I know!"
His voice unconsciously rose three points higher.
Indeed, taking Hangzhou would not only give Zhu Jiajun an outlet to the sea, but Zhang Shicheng would also suffer heavy losses. It would be like losing an arm, and he would not be able to stir up any trouble again.
At that time, there will only be one Tianwan left, and the conditions for becoming king are indeed sufficient.
Zhu Yuanzhang still remained calm and down-to-earth. Perhaps this was the secret to his ability to reach the end!
Judging from the current situation, due to the easy victory over Huzhou, the entire war situation is particularly beneficial to the Zhu Jiajun. From north to south, the Zhu Jiajun is on the offensive. Xu Da has already set up a posture to attack Hangzhou. Feng Guoyong also successfully crossed the canal. Peng Zaoyao
The place where I live has also entered a state of war.
This state of vitality and competition among all things makes people really happy...but I don't know who can come out on top and become the brightest pearl in the crown of King Wu in the future!
Chang Yuchun is very confident about this issue.
"I issued a military order to the superior. No matter what, we must capture Jiangyin!"
Chang Yuchun glanced at his generals, especially Wang Bi, who was at the top of the list.
Wang Bi immediately stood up and said, "Replying to the commander, Jiangyin is backed by the Yangtze River. The whole territory is flat, with only a few hills, and no natural barriers. As long as Jiangyin city can be broken, it will not be difficult to defeat the enemy."
"Then how to break the city?" Chang Yuchun asked.
"The first priority is to use equipment to destroy the city. Our army has supervised the construction of Lu Gong's chariot, as well as hundreds of stone cannons and gunpowder, which are enough to defeat the enemy!"
Chang Yuchun nodded with satisfaction, "Well said! Let me tell you guys, Lu Gongchao is our biggest support this time. Jiangyin's guard general is called Lu Zhen. It is most suitable for me to use Lu Gongchao to hit him!"
Chang Yuchun made arrangements overnight, and the army attacked Jiangyin from two directions in the southwest.
At the same time, Navy Liao Yongzhong will attack from Xijin Ferry in Zhenjiang to stop Zhang Shicheng's Navy. If they want to play a rear landing trick, they probably won't succeed.
Of course, Chang Yuchun did not expect too many naval forces. After all, this has always been the Zhu Jiajun's shortcoming. As long as they don't suffer losses, it will be fine. The real battle depends on our good men on land.
Before dawn, Chang Yuchun mobilized his troops. Zhu Yuanzhang gave him two battalions. Counting the auxiliary soldiers and civilians, the total number exceeded 15,000.
In the history books, there are often tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, which is nothing, just a drizzle.
But in fact, how many people have seen thousands of troops?
After all, these are soldiers wearing armor, not students waiting for lectures on the playground, nor the dense crowds in the market... They are strong and well-trained, wearing armor and holding bright weapons. They only have One purpose, that is to kill!
The Zhu Jiajun took a thousand households as the basic unit. For each thousand households, a big flag flew, and for more than a dozen thousand households, the flags were connected and the soldiers were densely packed.
A strong sense of oppression came over my face.
Standing in front of these soldiers, the thought of confronting them would make ordinary people's legs weak and their heartbeat quicken.
The garrison at the top of the city was no exception. As Zhang Shicheng's confidant, Lu Zhen stood at the top of the city, looking down at Zhu's army. Even though he was condescending, she was still wary.
This group of people have bright armor and a rainbow-like momentum. A rough estimate is that at least half of them are wearing armor.
As we all know, no matter how many people an army claims to have, its core combat strength is just that many. No general would dare to take thousands of elite soldiers lightly.
After the Zhu Jiajun formed their formation, hundreds of carriages rushed out from the middle of Chang Yuchun's team, and these carriages ran towards Jiangyin.
This scene is a bit funny. After all, when is it possible to use chariots and troops to attack a city?
But soon the people in the city stopped laughing.
These chariots and soldiers did not intend to attack the city, but stopped decisively at a place more than 300 steps away from the city wall, and then connected each chariot end to end to form a wall.
Then another group of Zhu Jiajun's soldiers rushed out and ran behind the wall to be on guard to prevent the protruding soldiers and horses in the city from destroying them. Behind them were a large number of trebuchets. These towering behemoths, with their desolate and majestic beauty, shook the sky. Coming from the ground.
"Sir, we can't let them prepare calmly!"
One of his generals suggested to Lu Zhen.
Lu Zhen held on to the crenel, pressed her hands tightly, and looked over and over again. Finally, she had no choice but to say: "Our stone cannon can't reach it! We still have the crossbow arrows... If they want to attack the city, they have to rush up and give them to them when the time comes." A head-on attack!"