Chapter 537: Prince Yans Mansion is Unshirkable in Responsibility
Just like the magnificent scenery of this northern land, the men on the fort also showed their heroism.
A middle-aged man in armor stood behind the wall, waving his whip in his hand and pointing to the grassland behind the mountains in the north, full of pride.
"In this life, I will ride horses across the desert, even wolves will live in Mount Xu, and set up an altar to offer sacrifices to God!"
With a few snowflakes floating on his shoulders, Zhu Di, the king of Yan in the Ming Dynasty, had peaked eyebrows and was majestic.
By his side were Song Duke Feng Sheng, the founding hero of the Ming Dynasty, Ying Duke Fu Youde, Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi, Quan Ning Marquis Sun Ke, as well as the three guards of the Yan Palace, the Beiping Capital Commander Zhang Zhiyuan, and the Kaiping Guard Commander Qi Jian.
Duke Feng Sheng of the Song Dynasty and Duke Fu Youde of the Ying State are no longer young now, and are over fifty or sixty years old. However, as their founding achievements, they have been stationed in Jiubian all year round, and they went out with the princes of the Jiubian vassal to conquer the grassland, but they did not make any achievements.
Every word is full of majesty.
Seeing that Zhu Di was so proud again, he wanted to do what the former Han Dynasty champion had done.
Feng Sheng said: "Your Majesty, your horse rides across the desert, and even your wolves live in Mount Xu. I will be your vanguard."
Fu Youde was also on the side not to be outdone and said: "This forward general must be me. I personally command my Ming Dynasty. The Yuan thieves who killed him fled and were frightened when they heard about our Ming army!"
King Yan and the veteran generals and princes were venting their heroic spirit wantonly, and all the surrounding generals were also smiling.
In this world of ice and snow, no one wants to be left behind.
This is the representative of the hundreds of thousands of frontier soldiers on the nine sides of the Ming Dynasty.
Wang Bi, the Marquis of Dingyuan, said from one side: "This year, the Oara tribe in the west sent envoys south to Yingtian to negotiate peace with the imperial court. Although in the eyes of the last general, I, the Ming Dynasty, do not need to pay attention to these traitors who have been driven out of the Central Plains.
However, the imperial court was concerned about the overall situation and had decided to discuss mutual trade with the Oara tribe. His Majesty also sent His Royal Highness Taisun to patrol the north to go to the pass to discuss mutual trade with the Oara tribe.
I think that when the northwest side is temporarily stabilized, the imperial court can fully prepare for our northern expedition. At that time, His Majesty will definitely appoint the prince as the commander-in-chief as usual and lead the generals out of seclusion and horseback.
Desert grassland!”
The imperial court's military operations east of the Great Wall and outside the Pass have been led by King Yan or King Jin for every Northern Expedition mission.
Now on the King of Jin's side.
Thinking of the location of Prince Jin's Mansion.
Everyone on the fort looked at each other knowingly.
Zhu Di's eyes were profound. He naturally knew the thoughts of these veterans in the army, and he also knew more inside information.
He opened his mouth and said: "Huai'an Mansion has transferred a lot of grain and grass this year, and they will send it to the northwest when spring starts. The imperial court has a lot to do. Since the imperial court now has such intention, it can also spare its hands to do it.
Once those shortcomings have been eliminated, we must stay in front of the imperial court and not let the soldiers in the northwest go hungry."
Zhang Zhiyuan spoke at the right time: "Your Majesty is sympathetic to the brothers in the border army, and I will respect you. The commander of Peking has been rectifying the warehouses a month ago. We are just waiting for the snow to melt in spring and the roads to be strong before shipping the grain and grass to the northwest."
Seeing Zhang Zhiyuan talking, the smile on Zhu Di's face became even stronger.
For this man who was driven out of Yingtian, Zhu Di always felt that he was his lucky general and the sharpest knife in his hand.
It was this Zhang Zhiyuan who, relying on his true skills, managed to become a little god of murder outside the Nine-sided Great Wall where many talented people and generals gathered.
next year.
When the court decides on the Northern Expedition next year, and when he returns in triumph, Zhu Di has already made up his mind to ask the court for credit for Zhang Zhiyuan.
The position of commander of the Peiping Capital Division is always indispensable.
If I operate it properly, I will let Zhang Zhiyuan lead the way as the vanguard general and achieve the first success.
It is unlikely that he could even ask the court to hire a count for him.
It sounded like Zhang Zhiyuan had already arranged for the Peking Commander-in-Chief to start preparing food and grass to be sent to the frontier army on the west side of the Great Wall before he had any idea.
Zhu Di's face was full of satisfaction: "With my ambitions far away, I can concentrate on the Northern Expedition with peace of mind."
It is no secret in Peiping that King Yan loves the little murderer.
Even Qiu Fu and Zhu Neng, who were considered confidants by King Yan at the time, often lamented their loss of favor, but they had to admire Zhang Zhiyuan's ruthlessness when it came to leading troops in battle.
He really dared to do something like charging into an enemy formation of thousands of people with only a hundred or so men.
For this reason, no one in Peking dares to say anything wrong about Zhang Zhiyuan.
Zhang Zhiyuan had long been accustomed to King Yan's compliments from time to time.
He just smiled silently and whispered: "It's just that my subordinates think that the imperial court may not have the intention to go to the north again next year."
After finishing speaking, he glanced at the meritorious veterans around Zhu Di.
There was naturally a trace of suspicion on people's faces.
You, Zhang Zhiyuan, are great at fighting and a ruthless character. But you are still so clear about the affairs of the imperial court, as if you can guess the emperor's thoughts.
Zhang Zhiyuan remained silent.
He didn't know what His Majesty the Emperor would think, but the news Tang Keke received from the secret guards was all the latest.
A trace of surprise flashed across Zhu Di's face. In view of Zhang Zhiyuan's outstanding performance in military strategy, he couldn't help but said: "Why did Zhiyuan say this?"
"Shanxi Road."
Zhang Zhiyuan just replied quietly.
Zhu Di frowned.
He knew about Shanxi Road. Although he was only the king of the Ming Dynasty, he could only control the border troops except the three guards of Prince Yan's Mansion when the court had the will.
But it does not mean that he is not clear about what is happening in Peiping and even Hebei Province.
Zhang Zhiyuan said again at this time: "The Taisun is traveling in Xingwen Zhending Mansion and Baoding Mansion, and the troops and horses of the guard are heading west to control the Shanxi Road. This incident alone is enough to show that His Highness Taisun is going to attack the Shanxi Road.
Once there was military action on the Shanxi Road, in order to stabilize the Nine Borders and prevent the Yuan thieves from going south, the imperial court would inevitably temporarily suspend the Northern Expedition.
As long as there is peace within the Guan and the chaos will not spread to the nine sides, then the imperial court will restart the Northern Expedition.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! I will be short on knowledge at the end, but I think the imperial court is currently planning to negotiate peace and trade with the Oara tribe in order to stabilize the situation in the northwest and prevent the nine sides from fighting on two sides.
"
Duke Feng Sheng of the Song Dynasty hummed and said: "How much trouble can be caused on the Shanxi Road. In Taiyuan, the vassal state of the King of Jin, these old men often lead troops to the north under the command of the King of Jin. With the King of Jin on the Shanxi Road, there will be no big troubles."
.”
"No!"
At this time, Zhu Di's eyes were serious and he looked at Feng Sheng: "Brother He never fights an unprepared battle. Even when he was on Jiaozhi Road, his climb to the city was criticized by the court, but he did it only when he was sure.
matter.
This time Brother Xu transferred to Zhending Prefecture, and Baoding Prefecture moved westward. Come to think of it...there are also edicts on both sides of Datong and Shanxi Roads. Brother Xu is probably on Henan Road now, where Lan Yu and Mu Ying are, and the other
There is a new commander-in-chief of Henan Province named Yu Ma, and they are all experienced people."
When Feng Sheng heard King Yan's inference and explanation, he finally understood.
He didn't know it before, just because he had been stationed here in Xuanfu Town this year and didn't know the situation on Henan Road and Shanxi Road.
However, as a hero in the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and given the title of Duke for his meritorious service, Feng Sheng was the leader among the millions of Ming soldiers for his military strategy.
He immediately looked worried and said: "If Your Highness Taisun really goes to such great lengths, it can only mean that the situation in Shanxi Road is likely to be far beyond the old minister's imagination..."
Fu Youde was on the side and said with profound meaning: "His Royal Highness Taisun mobilized local soldiers and horses on a large scale, doesn't Shanxi Dao know? The veteran is quite puzzled by this."
The wind and snow on the Great Wall suddenly became heavy.
The cold wind was biting, and the ice and snow slid down people's backs and collars, sliding into their bodies and being melted by body heat, making people feel chilly all over.
Zhu Di withdrew his gaze from the northern desert and turned to look in the direction of Shanxi Road to the southwest.
"Perhaps the thieves in Shanxi Road are not ignorant, but are also playing tricks..."
It is completely impossible for the imperial court to conceal the large-scale mobilization of troops and horses.
The Central Plains is not the grassland outside the customs. Tens of thousands of people are scattered on the boundless grassland, just like gravel flowing into the river, no one can find it.
"How will the grandson decide?"
Sun Ke, the Marquis of Quaning, muttered in a low voice.
They are all veterans who have been on the frontier for a long time. They are away all year round. It is rare that they are called back to Beijing for a period of time in a year. In the past few years, Zhu Yunxi's reputation in the court has spread to Jiubian, thousands of miles away.
become blurry.
Going north to the canal, crossing Zhili, Shandong, and Hebei, a journey of thousands of miles, and finally there is only one summary sentence left in a thousand-word article.
The emperor's grandson no longer passes by, he is quite brave and heroic.
This is the current understanding of Jiubian people towards Zhu Yunxi, the grandson of the current emperor.
Of course, the biggest thing the border troops knew about Zhu Yunxi was that the method of military merit and honor currently implemented by the imperial court was promoted by this young emperor's grandson.
With a deep brow, Zhu Di thought back to the last time he met his young nephew.
It seems to be the family banquet when the old man recalled all the brothers in the family to the capital.
Among the brothers, the prince's brother is the most respected and trusted by his brothers. As the second generation of the Ming Dynasty royal family, although some people are cruel in nature, most of them have real abilities.
They all followed the old man and came all the way from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.
From time to time, Zhu Di would be thinking that if the prince brother succeeds to the throne, the world will naturally be smooth sailing.
But what if it goes further?
The country that Lao Zhu's family finally conquered and the people finally lived in peace and tranquility could not all disappear in just a few hundred years.
What Zhu Di didn't expect was that the nephew who was still crying out to him for help had now grown to such an extent.
Zhu Di was in a daze, but felt inexplicably relieved in his heart.
"There hasn't been any news yet, which shows that Brother Xi is working steadily, making progress slowly, and is mature and prudent."
As if he felt that what he said was not enough, he added: "My Ming Dynasty has a good grandson!"
Snapped!
In the wind and snow under the fort, the faint sound of a whip could be heard.
Followed by a scream.
Zhang Zhiyuan walked to the direction where the sound of the whip was coming from in a few steps and looked down from the fort.
I saw that in the white snow, the construction of the Great Wall did not stop because of the snowstorm.
Those who were exiled here with shackles on their feet continued to contribute to the nine-sided defense of the empire under the whipping of the overseers of Monolith Castle.
The construction of the Great Wall has always been based on the principle of using local materials, so as to keep the court's expenditure to a minimum.
Stone is produced in the mountains around the Monolith Fortress, so the Great Wall construction in this area is based on stone and reinforced with rammed earth on both sides and on the top.
No adhesive is used for the stacking of stones. Pieces of stone are polished into the required shape, and then stacked layer by layer. Under the squeeze of weight, they can be tightly sealed and unbreakable.
And not all sections of the entire Great Wall can be walked on.
The greatest role of the Great Wall has always been to prevent the cavalry on the grassland from charging south.
As long as this city wall exists, it can block the momentum of the prairie cavalry charge, and then drag these cavalry into the familiar combat methods of the Central Plains army.
The imperial court has become rich in the past two years, and the construction of the Great Wall has received more money and food, and therefore more people will be transferred to work on the Great Wall.
Under the fort, Zhang Zhiyuan saw a familiar figure among the exiles who built the Great Wall.
That was Huang Shi who was demoted from Yingtian City and sent to Kaiping Guard.
After all these years, he is still alive.
Zhang Zhiyuan's eyes were a little more curious.
Obviously, those who were still working on the Great Wall in such a cold winter could not be ordinary people recruited by local officials.
The imperial court was not so strict as to allow the people under its rule to build the Great Wall in winter.
At this time, these people on the Great Wall were all prisoners of the imperial court, or people who committed crimes and were exiled to the border.
Treat these people.
According to Zhang Zhiyuan's understanding, it was better than those Japanese slaves brought back from Yingzhou.
Zhu Di also led people over at this time.
He also saw at a glance that under the fort, his feet were shackled in the wind and snow, and his hands were holding several flat stone slabs that had been chipped.
"Is that Huang Zicheng?"
Zhu Di frowned slightly.
Zhang Zhiyuan nodded and whispered: "This person committed a crime in Yingtian and was escorted back to Peking by the prince."
"I know him." Zhu Di frowned and said in public: "Why is he still alive?"
Qi Jian, the commander of the Kaiping Guards, paled and looked up at the prisoner named Huang Shi under the fort.
He didn't know that the prince actually knew this man.
And what the prince just said was undoubtedly expressing his dissatisfaction.
Qi Jian whispered: "Outside Beizhazikou, we are planning to build several more mountaintop watchtowers. They should be completed before the spring of next year. I will personally keep an eye on this matter."
Since the prince is dissatisfied that Huang Shi is still alive, let him freeze to death outside the pass for the sake of nine-sided defense.
Zhu Di's frowned brows relaxed again.
He had already withdrawn his gaze and turned to look at the people on the fort.
"The safety of His Royal Highness the Emperor Taisun is related to our country, the Ming Dynasty."
"There may be trouble in Shanxi Road. As a clan member, I cannot sit idly by and watch."
"In matters related to the country, the Prince of Yan's Palace has no shirk of responsibility."