Chapter 1045 The gap before the final battle - inspection on the road
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard a woman's voice: "Brother, have you persuaded Chen Zhongshu?"
"Yeah." Yunxi then agreed.
"Brother Emperor, I always feel that you are a little afraid of Chen Zhongshu. According to the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, such matters are the emperor's arbitrary decision. Even if there are people who can advise, they are officials and important officials of the court. Chen Zhongshu is just a minister of Zhongshu. Why does the emperor still bother to explain to him?" Yunzhi asked in confusion.
When Zhu Ting heard this, he opened his mouth. According to the tradition that the harem was not allowed to interfere in politics, Yun Zhi could not ask such a question. However, 'They are brothers and sisters. As an uncle, it is better for me to be cautious.'
Yunxi himself didn't pay much attention to this matter. Although he never discussed court affairs with anyone except Xiyao in the palace, he was used to exchanging letters with Yunying, so he replied: "Chen Ji is not For ordinary people, in my opinion, he is the next Chen Xingshan."
"Replace Chen Xingshan?" Zhu Wei was surprised. Although Chen Xingshan's official position is not high, he seems to have no sense of existence most of the time. From the 31st year of Hongwu to the present, he has been the judge of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion and concurrently the right minister of the Ministry of War. He is a third-grade official, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that he is very trusted by Yun Xi, and can be said to be the most trusted person. Now Chen Ji is actually being compared to him.
Yunxi nodded and didn't say much. In his opinion, the most trustworthy people are those who have really read the Confucian classics and understood them thoroughly. Such people are firstly very loyal, and secondly, they can accept some modifications. Of course, It may not be possible to use them to handle overly complicated government affairs, but it is very suitable to use them in a position where loyalty is more important.
Yunzhi didn't care about Yunxi's evaluation of Chen Ji. Seeing that Yunxi was in a good mood, she asked: "Brother, please take your sister to Yiwu."
"No!" Yunxi said categorically: "Yiwu is on the front line, what are you doing as a girl? Didn't you see that Shang Bing sent his concubine, children and sister to Ganzhou? This is absolutely true. If it doesn’t work, it’s useless to ask again!”
After hearing the tone of his words, Yunzhi knew that there was nothing she could do to change it, so she could only bow and agree with some frustration.
Yunxi did what he said, and led dozens of guards to Yiwu early on the next day, June 29th, escorted by two thousand households.
The straight-line distance from Ganzhou City to Yiwu is more than 1,100 miles, and the actual distance is more than 1,200 miles. Rao Yunxi ran more than 100 miles every day. After seven days of running, on the seventh day of July, Arrive at Xingxingxia.
After here is the Western Region, and the terrain is flat as far as the eye can see. If Timur knew that he was coming to send people to intercept and kill him, it would be over. At this time, the last batch of troops were resting in the Xingxing Gorge area and preparing to set off for Yiwu. Just in case, Yunxi decided to rest here for a day and head to Yiwu with tens of thousands of troops early the next morning.
After changing clothes, taking a shower, and eating dinner, Yunxi asked Chen Ji: "How is Yiwu doing now?"
"Your Majesty, according to the report from the Duke of Wei and His Highnesses of Qin and Jin, on the first day of the seventh month, Timur led the troops of the Western Slavs to retreat more than a hundred miles from Yiwu City and stationed themselves near an original acropolis. The Duke of Wei and His Highnesses After deliberation, it was decided to leave An Luhou with one hundred thousand troops to guard Yiwu City, and to lead another six hundred thousand troops to force into the Acropolis and set up camp thirty miles away from the Acropolis."
"In the past few days, Wei Guogong would send troops to provoke in front of the battle every day. Timur did not back down and sent troops to respond. However, it was just a test and not a serious fight. By the time he withdrew his troops back to camp the night before, he had already lost three soldiers. Of the 40,000 people, more than 13,000 were killed and more than 25,000 were injured. The Xilu troops' losses were about the same."
"According to another report, Timur sent tens of thousands of troops to capture the city of Turpan. In order to prevent the enemy from cutting off his retreat, he left 70,000 to 80,000 troops to garrison Turpan and Urumqi, and sent thousands of cavalry to garrison near Qijiaojing City.
." Chen Jihui reported.
"So, there are about 500,000 Xilu who are confronting our army in the Yiwu Basin, and our army is about 600,000?" Yunxi took a sip of tea and said.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Ji replied again.
Yunxi thought for a moment and was about to ask a few more questions when suddenly Wang Gong, the eunuch who was guarding the door, whispered: "Your Majesty, on behalf of the king and the king of England, I would like to see you." The two of them also personally led their barbarians this time.
Soldiers came to fight in the northwest.
"Xuan." Yunxi said immediately.
After a while, Zhu Gui and Zhu Song came in and bowed, and Yunxi told them as usual that there was no need to be polite.
Zhu Gui and Zhu Song also knew that this was Yunxi's old practice, so they still bowed respectfully. Afterwards, Zhu Gui said: "Guan family, my 19th brother and I heard that Guan family came to Xingxing Gorge and came to pay homage.
However, because our troops and others were arranged to be far away from the city, we came here just now, and I ask the officials to forgive me."
It has been six years since Yunxi succeeded to the throne. During this period, he personally conquered a rebellion and discovered a jade seal that had been lost for five hundred years. The emperor's aura has also been cultivated, so the princes who rarely see him are respectful to him.
"Why do you need to apologize for this?" Yunxi said with a smile: "It's a normal thing, there is no need to apologize. Can you two uncles have dinner?"
"We heard that the officials came to Xingxing Gorge and rushed over immediately. We haven't eaten yet," Zhu Song replied.
"It's already late, but it's a bit late. Wang Gong, send someone to deliver the food immediately," Yunxi said. Wang Gong accepted the order and left.
The food had to wait for a while and a half, so Yunxi exchanged a few words with the two of them and couldn't help but talk about the war in the northwest.
"Officials, in my opinion, Timur is cautious in using his troops, and Xu Huizu did not leave any opportunity for him to take advantage of. This battle will most likely be a long-term stalemate, until one side reveals its flaws and is defeated by the other side."
"This is not a good thing for the Ming Dynasty. Although the land of Yiwu is still rich, it is close to the battlefield and cannot be cultivated. The land of Hexi is even more barren. I heard that Qinghai is better, but it cannot supply an army of 700,000 or 800,000 people.
of food and wages.”
"And Timur occupied the Gurbantunggut Basin, the richest area in the Western Region, and could send troops to graze here to maintain food for the soldiers. Moreover, he had fewer soldiers than the Ming Dynasty."
"So in my opinion, if there is a long-term stalemate, it will be detrimental to the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Gui, the acting king, said.
"Guan, I think so too. The Ming Dynasty sent heavy troops to confront Timur in Yiwu. Even if there is enough food now, there will definitely be a shortage in the future, so it is best to defeat the Xilu as soon as possible." King Zhu Song also said
.
"Of course what the two uncles said makes sense. But how to defeat the Xilu as soon as possible? Should we order Huizu to lead troops to attack?" Yunxi said helplessly.
He has been studying the situation in the northwest these days and discovered this problem, but whether it can be solved is not something that Ming Dynasty can decide unilaterally. If Timur had not exposed any flaws, he could not order Xu Huizu to launch a suicide attack.
"The officials might as well order Xu Huizu to lead his troops through Qijiaojing City to the Gurbantunggut Basin, forcing Timur to retreat and confront him there," Zhu Song suggested.
"What if Timur ignored Xu Huizu and led his troops to attack Yiwu City? If the soldiers learned that Yiwu City was lost, they would be demoralized and frightened. Even if Xu Huizu wanted to attack Urumqi, it would not work. After all, Xilu was away from Yiwu.
The city is close, but Xu Huizu is far away from the city of Urumqi." Yunxi said.
Zhu Gui and Zhu Song thought of several more suggestions, but they were all inappropriate. Yunxi said: "Two uncles, we should leave the war to the generals in Yiwu now. We only need to be responsible for providing them with logistics.
Just make sure that random things don’t interfere with the war.”
"Although I am not willing to waste food in this confrontation, but if we still can't find a chance to win, it is better to remain in a stalemate."
Zhu Gui and Zhu Song agreed immediately. Yunxi wanted to say more, but the chef had already delivered the food. Yunxi ate something with them and took a nap in the afternoon.
When Shen Shichu woke up, Yunxi took out the map and looked at it again. Since he couldn't figure out anything, he turned around and left the house.
Guard Song Qingshu and others hurriedly followed. Yunxi asked: "Do you know where the troops that have set off for Yiwu are stationed?" Before Song Qingshu could answer, he said to himself: "That's all, whatever.
Let's take a look around the street." After saying that, he walked out of the courtyard and started walking around the street with his guards.
The city of Xingxingxia is very prosperous at this time. As a transportation chokepoint from the Western Regions to the Central Plains, after Shang Bing occupied Yiwu, many merchants passed through this place to do business even in normal times. Now that the war has broken out, ordinary merchants will no longer come.
, but many businessmen with the intention of making war fortune continue to gather here with their troops.
From the end of the previous year to the beginning of last year, the story that domestic and foreign businessmen made a lot of money in Annan has been known to Shanshan merchants in the north after a year of spreading. They were worried that the trade with Mongolia was not only small in scale, but also under the influence of the imperial court.
Due to the restrictions, I couldn't make much money. Suddenly I heard that there was an opportunity to make a fortune in the northwest, and all of them rushed over to do business as if they had been given blood.
Especially when Yiwu City was besieged some time ago, the merchants did not dare to go, so they all stayed in the Xingxing Gorge, doing business with the troops passing by and having a great time. Yunxi walked along and saw countless people.
The shop is open and business is booming.
Not only was he a businessman from Shanxi and Shaanxi, along the way, Yunxi also heard the accents of Sichuan, Henan, Hebei, Shandong, and Huguang in addition to Shaanxi and Shanxi dialects, but he did not have the accents of Liangjiang, Minzhe, Guangxi, Guangxi, and Yunnan-Guizhou. But in the south
There are many ways to make money in the provinces, so there is no need to come to the unfamiliar Western Regions to compete with them for business.
After walking through these commercial streets and arriving at a military camp, it suddenly became much quieter. Of course, Yunxi had already heard from Jin Yiwei that there were many private houses selling skin and flesh near the military camp, but because several His Highnesses passed by one after another,
, these private houses don’t dare to operate openly on the street, so on the surface they look fine.
"This is the Baiyi Guard led by Zhu Hengshi?" Yunxi asked after identifying the flag set up at the door.
"Your Majesty, this is indeed the Baiyi Guard." Song Qingshu said.
"Baiyi Guards? Qingshu, go in and ask Hengshi to come out to greet you." If it was a Han guard, he would have gone in directly, but Yunxi was still a little afraid of a bunch of Fusang people.
Song Qingshu agreed and walked into the gate of the camp. Not long after, Zhu Hengshi came out with several people. When he saw Yunxi, he immediately knelt down and said: "I have seen your majesty, Zhu Hengshi, long live long live!"
After the preface ceremony was completed, Yun He said with a smile: "How is the situation of the Baiyi Guards now? Are the soldiers willing to go to the northwest to fight with the Xilu?"
"Your Majesty, the morale of our Baiyi Guards is high and we look forward to going to Yiwu City to fight against the Westerners and serve the Ming Dynasty loyally." Zhu Hengshi shouted loudly.
The generals who came behind him also shouted at the same time: "Conquer the Western Regions, defeat the Western captives, and be loyal to the Ming Dynasty!"
Yun was stunned for a moment. The Baiyi Guards were all Fusang people. It would be fair to say that they were not afraid of war. But it was too false to say that they were all willing to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty.
"Your Majesty." Zhu Hengshi probably saw or guessed that Yun Xi didn't believe it, and then said: "We, the Baiyi Guards, are all poor and frustrated warriors in Fusang.
There is nothing of value except a knife passed down from our ancestors. After arriving in the Ming Dynasty, His Majesty paid his soldiers according to the rules of the Ming Dynasty. He provided them with three meals a day and never discriminated against his ministers. They were all grateful to His Majesty and loyal to the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, I am willing to go to Yiwu City to fight against the Westerners and serve the Ming Dynasty loyally."
Zhu Hengshi was originally an anonymous prince of the Southern Dynasty, so the people he attracted were naturally the warriors of the Southern Dynasty. Because the Northern and Southern Dynasties ended with the victory of the Northern Dynasty, most of the Southern Dynasty warriors lost their jobs after the Northern Dynasties completed the unification. Those who had their own territory were better off and could go home to exploit the peasants.
To eat. Those who had no land had no choice but to find work everywhere to fill their stomachs. When they heard that the Ming Dynasty was recruiting people, they not only gave them food but also paid them, so they all crossed the sea and came to the Ming Dynasty. Even though Minamoto Yoshimitsu wanted to ban it after hearing about it, he couldn't.
Absolutely.
This is actually normal. Think about the civil unrest in Fuso in the late Ming Dynasty, and you will understand how many warriors who had no enough to eat went to sea to work as pawns for pirates from all over the world. Although the warrior class as a whole can be regarded as a person with a national concept, in the
In the absence of invasion by foreign enemies, only those who have enough to eat have the right to care about these things. Those who do not have enough to eat will starve to death if they care about it any more. They cannot afford to care about it.
However, Yunxi was probably more influenced by later generations, and he was still dubious about Zhu Hengshi's words, but he finally dared to take people into the camp to have a look.
As soon as he walked in, he heard Zhu Hengshi shout loudly: "Come here to pay homage to Your Majesty."
"I have seen your Majesty. Long live your Majesty!" Countless people knelt down in front of Yunxi and shouted loudly.