Chapter 155 To the east of the sea, Liao is the leader
The further north you go, the colder the weather becomes.
The Northern Expeditionary Army crossed Shanhaiguan before November and arrived at Liaodong, the last line of military defense of the Ming Dynasty in the Northeast.
Zhu Yuanzhang once said: "To the east of the Canghai Sea, Liao is the first frontier. Since Zhongxia is peaceful, it must be defended."
Liaodong is a well-deserved military town. It is the military town with the largest number of garrison troops among the Nine Borders of the Ming Dynasty. There are hundreds of thousands of troops stationed there. There are no civilians here, only the army. Various garrison cities have been established according to the defense system.
After the Northern Expeditionary Army left Shanhaiguan, they arrived in Liaodong to borrow a road and temporarily camped in Guangning Prefecture.
Liu Rong, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong who was located in Guangning Prefecture, Liaodong, quickly went out of the city to greet him. Although he would not send troops to follow King Qi to conquer Jianzhou, he could still have moral support.
The sergeants had a good meal and refreshed themselves in Guangning Mansion, while Zhu Gaojie, British Duke Zhang Fu, Chengguo Duke Zhu Yong, and Liaodong Commander-in-Chief Liu Rong were in Zhendong Hall to take stock of military information related to the founding of the state.
Guangning is the highest military and political authority in the northeastern region of the Ming Dynasty. There is the Zhendong Hall built in the city, which is the "meeting hall" where the governor of Liaodong, the eunuchs of Liaodong, and the general military officer of Liaodong discuss and work. But now that Zhu Gaojie has arrived, the Zhendong Hall has become
His temporary office location.
…
"Wait a minute." Zhu Gaojie suddenly said, "Why can't I go directly from Guangning to Kaiyuan and have to go around in such a long circle? I go directly from Guangning to Kaiyuan, and the journey only takes three days. But according to you
As I said, I had to walk almost a thousand miles and detour through most of Liaodong, which would have delayed more than ten days at least."
Because the Ming army was strong, it could keep suppressing the Mongols in the northeastern region, and there was no need for Liaoze to restrict the Mongols.
This tone doesn't sound right, but it's within common sense.
Li Manzhu smiled and said: "Father is right, what can be terrible about the Ming Dynasty? We have always had a good relationship with the Ming Dynasty. Speaking of which, we followed the Ming Emperor in the crusade against Arutai and made military exploits! Qi Ming Dynasty
When the king sees us, he might come and give us a reward of silver!"
The 300,000 Liaodong Army, represented by Liu Rong, the Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong, had an ambiguous relationship with King Qi. If this matter spread, Liu Rong could be accused of "colluding with the prince", and he could be dismissed from office or beheaded in public.
And King Qi will also be questioned!
Zhu Gaojie glanced at the embarrassed Zhu Yong and said, "Is Duke Cheng Guo feeling unwell? Why does he look so embarrassed?"
"Father, what is Meng Brother Timur doing here?" Yuexia asked.
Liu Rong drew on the map of Liaodong and said: "Your Majesty, according to the plan, you should lead the troops from Guangning, bypass Liaoze, station at Niuzhuang and station in Liaoyang, Shenyang, Kaiyuan, and then march from Kaiyuan to Jianzhou.
…”
Liu Rong also realized that something was wrong, and bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I will retire in advance. If anything happens, send someone to the General Military Mansion to inform the general. On behalf of the Liaodong Army, I will respond to your request!"
On the desk was a map of Jianzhou collected by Liaodong, the distribution of tribes, and relevant information about the various Jurchen tribes. Zhu Gaojie randomly picked out a piece and flipped through it, getting some ideas in his mind.
Now King Qi said that except for the rainy season, Liaoze is actually a very wide plain. Not to mention that there are no restrictions on cavalry, even infantry can travel freely...
Liu Rong couldn't help but be in awe: "This great righteousness will be admired by the general. Please accept Liu's worship! If the prince has a request in the future, the Liaodong Army will definitely respond!"
Seeing Liu Rong's expression, Zhu Gaojie said seriously: "General Liu, the Ming Dynasty has been strong in the Northeast in recent years, so the disadvantages of abandoning Liaoze have never been revealed. But if Liaodong is weak, I don't need to say more about the consequences.
Bar."
Liu Rong wiped the sweat from his forehead: "I will finally understand."
"Farewell." After Liu Rong left, Zhu Gaojie turned his attention to Zhu Yong and raised his eyes: "Mr. Cheng Guo, are you feeling unwell?"
Liu Rong's brain fell into a short circuit, because he suddenly realized that he had no way to defend himself - what King Qi said was so reasonable!
This also made Liu Rong suddenly realize a problem. The reason why the Ming Dynasty abandoned Liaoze was because Liaoze was a natural defense barrier and used swamps to restrict the Mongolian cavalry.
It was originally a journey of more than ten days, but after crossing Liaoze, the Northern Expedition Army only took three days to reach the border of Kaiyuan from Guangning Prefecture, and arrived at the Tumen River in the east. It was like a tiger leaving its cage and rushing towards Suifen River.
Sakyamuni snorted coldly and said, "Oduoli people have always been timid. Whenever there is any disturbance, they feel that every tree and plant is on the verge of war. I have become accustomed to this."
He said it very lightly, but Liu Rong knew in his heart how much pressure King Qi had to bear for lending this name!
Zhu Yong breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Zhu Gaojie nodded slightly, waved his hand and said: "General Liu, I will see you off not far away, please go slowly."
Is this what they both should hear?
Liaoze is not only not conducive to travel, but the wetlands are suitable for breeding mosquitoes in summer and are difficult to cultivate. In the Ming Dynasty, the Han people in Liaodong were unwilling to move here. The Ming Dynasty simply did not want this area.
Zhu Gaojiao cupped his hands and said, "General, you're too polite. Your Majesty just did what you should do. What can I ask for?"
Just as he turned around to leave, Zhu Gaojie suddenly said unhurriedly: "The previous generation's Duke Chengguo was such a hero. He made immortal contributions during the Jingnan crisis. How come in the modern era, there are so many Duke Chengguo's offices?"
The copper odor of some merchants?"
Zhu Yong was horrified when he heard this, and he cupped his hands and said: "I am not feeling well and would like to leave first. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
That's all Zhang Fu, he and Prince Qi's palace are on the same boat, and he may have many shady deals with Prince Qi behind his back.
Although the Sakyamuni family and the fierce brother Timur were related by marriage, under the deliberate guidance of the Ming Dynasty, the various Jurchen tribes were constantly at odds with each other, and they were all thinking of annexing each other's tribe.
"In the face of Ming's national interests, no one can be alone."
The corner of Zhu Yong's mouth twitched slightly: "No, no, the prince trusts me so much, I am deeply touched."
Meng Brother Timur frowned slightly and said: "I advise you to be more cautious. I have a feeling that King Qi is coming with bad intentions this time."
But Zhu Yong felt that it was not appropriate for him to appear on this occasion. It was true that Duke Chengguo and King Qi were from the same faction, but the words of King Qi and Liu Rong should obviously be heard by the confidants of Prince Qi. How could he
Just listened!
Near the southern bottom line of the Liaoze border wall, there is a city called "Niuzhuang". It was not only an important seaport in Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, but also an important road connecting Liaoyang in Liaodong to Kaiyuanyuan and Guangning in Liaoxi to Shanhaiguan. It was a choke point.
It's okay for Prince Qi and Liu Rong to talk about this in private. Why did you let us hear it? How embarrassing it is.
In the birch bark house by the river, Sakyamuni sat on the fire kang, drinking shochu to warm himself.
Zhu Gaojie said with calm eyes, "If necessary, this person can be anyone, and I am no exception. Everyone can devote themselves to the Ming Dynasty. I am just lending a name, so why not?"
"Ha ha ha ha."
While the father and son were chatting and laughing, suddenly the noise of the tribe came from outside.
"Damn it, Boy Xun, what are you doing?!"
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the court was not up to par, with internal and external troubles and constant rebellions. The military defense line in Liaodong turned into a bottomless pit, and a series of negative buffs were lost to the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yong was sweating profusely after hearing this, and left in a hurry, looking in a miserable state, whether because of embarrassment or cowardice.
When Zhang Fu heard what King Qi said, he pursed his lips to hold back his smile.
Zhu Gaojie smiled and stretched out his hand to signal: "Mr. Cheng, please help yourself. Go back and think about it carefully. I don't like to embarrass others."
Zhu Gaojie did not stay in Guangning Mansion for long. After reorganizing his troops, 30,000 elite troops crossed Liaoze. In winter, Liaoze had dried up and was flat.
Meng Ge Timur, whose original name is Aixinjueluo Mentemu, is the leader of the Odori tribe and the commander of the Jianzhou Left Guards.
"Let's go slowly without seeing him off," Sakyanu said.
This person is a relative of Sakyamuni, leader of Mao Lianwei, Baerxun, and a giant of the Jurchens in Jianzhou.
But now a prince named "Zhu Gaojie" suddenly broke into Liaodong and told everyone: "Hey! You are all so blind. Can't Liaoze leave now?"
Because the Ming army abandoned Liaoze, the Liaodong region was almost divided into two. Kaiyuan, Liaoyang and Guangning were unable to form reinforcements.
Because the person who made the decision to abandon Liaoze was Zhu Yuanzhang.
"So what?" Shikyanu said calmly, "He still dares to attack me. Don't you know who my brother-in-law is?"
"Yuexia (Li Manzhu's real name), you are here." Sakyamuni nodded slightly.
"Humph, timid fierce brother Timur, when he heard that King Qi of the Ming Dynasty was coming with his army, he was so scared that he wet his pants."
…
This statement obviously implies that Zhu Yong is also very good at doing business. He jumps with both feet repeatedly and never puts eggs in a basket when investing. Now that they have chosen to side with Prince Qi's Palace, they are still unsteady and quite unpredictable.
The meaning of rudder.
Zhu Yong hesitated and didn't know what to say.
I paid such a high price for abandoning Liaoze, but now you tell me that Liaoze actually has no restrictions on the Mongols?
It's not that Liu Rong has never thought about this issue before. He also discovered that Liaoze seemed to have military strategic value, but he never dared to report it to Zhu Di.
…
He almost pointed at the tip of Zhu Yong’s nose and cursed!
Of course, Zhu Gaojie's words were not just for the purpose of connoting Zhu Yong, but more of a knock.
Sakyamuni came out slightly dissatisfied: "What's the fuss about?"
However, the Ming Dynasty blocked Liaoze to the north of the border wall, causing the border wall in Liaodong to form a huge "V" shape. From a military perspective, this was a very serious mistake!
"General Liu, Liaoze only appears during the summer flood season every year. Starting from late autumn, when the rainy season ends and the swamps dry up, Liaoze will shrink and disappear." Zhu Gaojie said slowly, "It is winter now, and Liaoze can be called a desert.
Tantu, do you think I still need to take a detour?"
Zhu Gaojie and Zhang Fu looked at each other, and the old father-in-law and son-in-law laughed out loud at the same time.
"Your Majesty, I don't know, you have to go around Liaoze." Liu Rong said with a smile, "Laoha River, Xilamulun River, Uli Jimuren River and other headwaters of the Liao River flow to the wilderness of northeastern Liaoning.
Due to reasons such as flat and low-lying terrain, the flow rate slowed down, the river bed became wide, and the river overflowed, forming a large swamp area of rivers and lakes in this area, which led to Liaoze. There were many underground floods, starting from the Yibao pier and abutment, and the residents were in danger.
There is no smoke in sight, except for the faint sound of reeds. Liaoze is hundreds of miles away, so if you want to rush from Guangning to Kaiyuan, you can only take a detour."
Zhu Gaojie patted Zhu Yong on the shoulder: "Mr. Cheng Guo, there are some things that are not a big deal once you understand them in your mind. But if you don't understand them, you will always be stuck in your heart."
Sakyamuni's sister, the Third Empress, married Zhu Di, who was still King of Yan.
Liu Rong's face condensed: "How dare you, general? Doesn't this mean that you, the prince, will take the blame for me, Liaodong?"
After Zhu Yuanzhang's death, "abandoning the strategic deployment in Liaoze" had become the ancestral system, and no one dared to disobey the ancestral system.
"Don't you know that King Qi of the Ming Dynasty came to our Jurchens?" Meng Brother Timur frowned slightly.
Zhu Gaojie nodded slightly. Of course he knew about Liaoze, a typical swamp wetland environment.
The British Duke Zhang Fu and the Cheng Guo Duke Zhu Yong wanted to dig out a three-bedroom apartment with their toes on the ground, hide themselves in the cracks in the ground and pretend to be dead!
The Ming Dynasty stationed hundreds of thousands of troops in Liaodong, and its targeted enemies were always the Mongols, not the Jurchens. Before Li Chengliang left office, the various Jurchen tribes were treated as dogs by the Liaodong general army, and they implemented a strategy of constant differentiation, allowing the Jurchens to fight among themselves.
.
However, as soon as Sakyamuni walked out of the door, he found a man covered in blood squirming in front of the door. His face was like gold paper, as if he might stop breathing at any time.
"Did you know that King Qi of the Ming Dynasty is coming to Jianzhou." The man sitting opposite Sakyamuni spoke slowly.
However, Sakyamuni didn't take it to heart. Seeing this, Timur, the fierce brother, said helplessly: "I'm leaving first. There are still many things to deal with in the tribe. You can take care of yourself."
It was just that the Ming Dynasty did not expect that tiger breeding later became a problem. During the short vacancy after Li Chengliang left office, Nurhachi completed the unification of Jianzhou, and then sent troops to defeat the Mongols, and the threat in the Northeast continued to expand.
"Then when King Qi comes here, he should call me uncle." Sukyanu smiled and said, "Brother Meng Timur, please be more relaxed."
After Meng brother Timur left, Sakyamuni's son Li Manzhu (Chinese name) came in and saluted respectfully: "Father."
The commander of the Jianzhou Guard was called Shi Jiannu, whose Chinese name was Li Xianzhong. He inherited the identity of his father Aha as the commander of the Jianzhou Guard.
This is really embarrassing.
The Suifenhe area is home to the largest Jurchen force in the Jianzhou area - the Jianzhou Guards.
But once the Ming army was at a disadvantage against the Mongols, a strategic mistake in Liaoze, a key place, could allow the Mongols to advance straight in and cut off the entire Liaodong, which was equivalent to handing over the country to others!
"I understand that General Liu has his own reasons and is unwilling to disobey Taizu's ancestral system." Zhu Gaojie suddenly said, "You can use my signature to demonstrate the interests and disadvantages of Liaoze to His Majesty as mentioned above."
He loves his son very much, he is ambitious and courageous.
Sukyanu took a sip of the wine and said with a smile: "Brother Meng Timur, what are you afraid of?"
Sakyamuni's expression changed greatly, and he tried to help Erxun up, but his hands were stained with blood.
The leader of Mao Lianwei said with a faint breath: "Qi...King Qi!"