One man's meat may be another man's poison. Li Jinglong was a black hole to Emperor Jianwen, but to Prince Yan he was the angel in a fairy tale.
It is said that Prince Yan received information from Hu Shanwei that Li Jinglong would replace Geng Bingwen, so he immediately withdrew his troops and returned to Peking for rest. The second son Zhu Gaoxu had been a hostage in the capital for nearly ten years. Although he was protected by his uncles, he was wild and unruly by nature, brave and aggressive, and felt really suffocated. He finally took advantage of his father's feigned illness to escape back to Peking, and immediately took up weapons and charged into battle with his father to vent his anger.
Just when the battle was in full swing, the Prince of Yan was about to retreat. Zhu Gaoxu was young and full of vigor and was reluctant to leave. He said, "Father, if you give me another chance, I will lead the troops to attack the city and must capture Zhending and capture Geng Bingwen alive."
The Prince of Yan liked this second son who was most like him. Although they had not seen each other for many years, the two of them went to war together. In war, the most important thing was to have a life-and-death relationship. The gap between them was eliminated, and the relationship between father and son became stronger. The Prince of Yan was very patient with Zhu Gaoxu and explained:
"There are five kinds of failures in military tactics, and Jinglong fell into all of them. The first is that the general's orders are not well maintained, discipline is not in order, and the upper and lower levels are divided, and the will to live and die is divided. Now the north is cold early, and the southern soldiers are not enough to wear fur and brown, and they have to go out in the frost and snow, their hands and feet are chapped, and some even lose their fingers. In addition, the soldiers have no food, and the horses have no nights. The second is that they do not consider the dangers and go deep into the depths to pursue the benefits. The third is that they are greedy and do not govern, lack wisdom and trust, are arrogant and stubborn, have neither kindness and courage, and their authority and orders are not carried out, and the three armies are easily defeated. The fourth is that the troops are noisy, the drums and gongs are not rhythmic, they like flattery and flattery, and they only rely on villains. Jiujiang has all the five failures, and it is guaranteed that there is nothing to do. But I am here, and they will not dare to come. Now I must go to Yongping to help. When they know that I am leaving, they will come to attack the city. I will return to attack them. With a strong city in front and a large army behind, they will surely be captured."
What this means is that there are five types of failure in military strategy, and as long as one of them occurs, defeat will occur. The genius Li Jinglong has all five types of failure.
First, the Northern Expedition Army is a motley crowd, with no organization or discipline. Li Jinglong has never fought a war and is simply unable to command hundreds of thousands of troops. Second, it is almost October, and the weather in the south is still warm in October, but there will be frost and snow in the north. These troops are from the south and cannot adapt to the northern climate. They do not have enough food and grass, so they will probably freeze to death or starve to death. Third, Li Jinglong is a moron. Fourth, military discipline is lax, and flatterers like Li Jinglong are in power, while capable people are excluded. Fifth, Geng Bingwen is now defending the city, and he has never lost a battle. Let's not bite hard, or we will break our teeth. Now the Liaodong Army is attacking Yongping. Once Yongping is defeated, Beiping will inevitably be attacked from both sides. We need to support Yongping even more now.
To put it simply, Li Jinglong is a complete idiot in all aspects. Rather than coming to fight, it is better to say that he is here to die. There is no need to worry about him. What our army needs to do now is to support the important military base of Yongping.
Zhu Gaoxu thought what his father said made sense, but he was young after all, and his focus was different from his father's. He said, "It's okay not to beat Geng Bingwen. This old man was quite good to us hostages in the capital. Li Jinglong is too abominable. He fabricated treason charges, deposed my fifth uncle and eldest cousin as commoners, and imprisoned them in Fengyang. He came at the right time. I'm going to beat him up."
Looking at his second son who "clearly distinguishes gratitude and resentment", the King of Yan felt that his son was still too young and too simple, but he was very pleased that his son always thought of his unlucky younger brother who could only write medical books. His mother died early, and he only had one younger brother, the King of Zhou. The eldest brother is like a father, and the brothers have a deep relationship. Now his younger brother is imprisoned because of him, and the King of Yan is also very worried.
But worrying was useless. The only way to save his brother and restore his reputation and title was to succeed in the rebellion and ascend the throne as emperor. Otherwise, both brothers would die.
King Yan looked in the direction of Fengyang, sighed deeply, and patted his second son on the shoulder, "Fight well and rescue your fifth uncle as soon as possible."
That night, the Yan army evacuated overnight.
Three days later, Li Jinglong came with the imperial edict to replace Geng Bingwen. Just as Prince Yan had expected, Li Longji succeeded in taking the throne by relying on his skill in reducing the power of the princes and won the favor of Emperor Jianwen. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, and most of the people around him were flatterers. They were not good at riding horses but were great at flattering. Among them was the secret agent of the Jinyiwei planted by Ji Gang.
In fact, this was the first time Li Jinglong entrusted him with an important task, and it was a great opportunity to make achievements and prove with his strength that he was definitely not a man who only talked about war on paper, but it was his first time to fight a big battle. The Prince of Yan was good at fighting, and he had fought against the Northern Yuan army north of Shanhaiguan for many years, using offense as defense and had rich experience.
Even Geng Bingwen, a veteran general of the Hongwu dynasty, was defeated and retreated to Zhending with three times the number of troops. He was forced to defend himself. What could I do
Moreover, in terms of seniority, the Prince of Yan was his uncle. Facing such a powerful opponent, Li Jinglong thought: What if I can't come back? To be honest, I was a little nervous!
Seeing that Dong Weng looked uncomfortable, the staff around him hurriedly went up to flatter him and said:
"Grand Marshal! When the Yan army heard that you were coming, they immediately withdrew. You are just like Xu Da, the King of Zhongshan, who defeated the enemy without fighting. Your reputation spread far and wide, and the Yan army was terrified and had no choice but to flee. You see, as soon as you came, the Yan army fled."
Li Jinglong was overjoyed, "Are you serious?"
The staff handed over the military report: "This is what the spy just found out, please take a look, Marshal."
The military report only said that the Yan army retreated, but under the preconceived guidance of his staff, Li Jinglong also thought that it was his own reputation that scared away the Yan army.
It turns out that the Yan army is just like this.
So, Li Jinglong, who had been worried that he would never come back, became excited as if he had been given a shot of chicken blood, and did not notice the sneer on the corner of his aide's mouth.
As most of Geng Bingwen's 300,000 troops died or surrendered, only 100,000 Northern Expedition troops were left trapped in Zhending. Emperor Jianwen sent his cousin Li Jinglong to take over and added 400,000 troops, for a total of 500,000 troops. He demanded that Li Jinglong return triumphantly.
Three hundred thousand against one hundred thousand is not enough, but five hundred thousand should be enough! Five people against one.
Therefore, when the blindly confident Li Jinglong arrived at Zhending City, he looked down on the old-looking Geng Bingwen. If it weren't for the fact that he was the father-in-law of Princess Jiangdu and the relative of Empress Dowager Lu, Li Jinglong would have wanted to step on his face. The failure of the first battle and the collapse of our army's morale were all caused by this old guy.
Upon hearing the imperial edict, the veteran general Geng Bingwen's hair turned almost white instantly. In fact, he felt that he had just found the feeling of fighting and could still be saved, but Emperor Jianwen would not give him the chance to prove himself.
He had a glorious life and was almost invincible, but he lost his integrity in his later years. Suffering this humiliation, Geng Bingwen felt ashamed and sighed, and wished he had died on the battlefield to put an end to it all.
Geng Bingwen knelt down and said, "I, the guilty minister Geng Bingwen, accept the order."
At this point, Geng Bingwen even envied the old generals Feng Sheng and Fu Youde who were exterminated during the Hongwu Dynasty. At least they died in glory.
And I didn't even have a chance to turn over.
When Geng Bingwen left Zhending City, he was alone, his hair and beard were all white, and even his back was drooped. A great general of the founding of the country, he fell into such a state, like a dog that had lost its home. The soldiers who fought with him were reluctant to see him go and took off their hats to see him off.
Li Jinglong took a look and realized that the people's morale was low and it would be difficult to lead the team.
The first thing a new official does when he takes office is to remove all the senior military officers arranged by Geng Bingwen, asking them to charge into battle, make meritorious services and apologize. Then he put all his own men in place and gave them high positions regardless of their talents.
Li Jinglong felt that only his own people would listen to him, and he would be able to command freely in the future. Those old people were still missing the defeated general Geng Bingwen, and they were disobedient and useless.
Li Jinglong was anxious to make achievements and let those who doubted his ability know how powerful he was. He heard that the Yan army had gone to support Yongping, leaving only the Prince of Yan behind.
I heard that there are only 10,000 defenders in the city of Peking now.
Prince Zhu Gaochi of Yan had been a hostage in the capital for nearly ten years. Li Jinglong could be said to have watched this cousin grow up. Zhu Gaochi was a fat man with a mild personality. Due to his weight, he had difficulty in moving, preferred quietness to movement, and preferred literature to martial arts. What did he use to defend the city? Fat
Therefore, although Li Jinglong had not yet established a firm foothold, he immediately gave an order to lead 500,000 northern expedition troops to attack the Yan Prince's lair - Peking.
Li Jinglong ordered the army to break camp and set out. Immediately, an officer objected: "Marshal, although our army is large in number, the transportation of food and grass in the rear is slow and there is not enough food. We can still get supplies in Zhending. Once the army sets out for Peking, our army will be short of food and grass. The soldiers will not have enough to eat. How can we fight?"
This makes sense. Zhending is the imperial court's territory. Even if food and grass arrive slowly, they can requisition food and grass locally and barely get enough to eat. But once they go to the north, that is the territory of the Yan army. Where can they find food
If the soldiers are not well fed, they will at best be defeated and at worst mutiny. People need to eat.
As a result, many people agreed and asked Li Jinglong to wait until the food and supplies arrived before attacking Peking.
However, Li Jinglong was anxious to make a contribution, so he said, "You can think of it, and the King of Yan can think of it too, so the King of Yan will unscrupulously drag his army to support Yongping, and there is no need to worry about our army attacking his old nest, Beiping."
"The way to use troops is to surprise the enemy and attack them when they are least prepared. The King of Yan thought we dared not move, but we moved anyway and attacked Peking. Although we don't have enough food, Peking has abundant grain reserves. As long as we capture Peking, we will have food to eat."
"We have 500,000 troops, and Peking only has 10,000 defenders. We will definitely win this battle."
Li Jinglong's words made sense, especially the last sentence. Five hundred thousand against ten thousand was equivalent to fifty people fighting one. The number disparity was too great.
Dear readers, think about it, even Ip Man can only fight ten at a time, so the 10,000 defenders in Beiping City are 10,000 Donnie Yen? This is unscientific.
The general who had raised the objection just now still maintained his doubtful attitude: "Those 10,000 are the defenders, and Beiping is the capital of the previous Yuan Dynasty. The city walls are taller and stronger than those of Nanjing. The King of Yan has been repairing the walls in recent years. The city is impregnable and easy to defend but difficult to attack. Our army of 500,000 may not be able to capture Beiping in one fell swoop."
Well, that seems to make sense.
At the moment of stalemate, Li Jinglong's staff pointed at the questioning general and cursed: "Bah, you coward, your 300,000-man army was beaten to a pulp by the 100,000-man army of Yan. You must have been timid by the King of Yan, so you dare not attack a city with 500,000 troops!"
The general was furious, "Bah! I'm a tortoise and you're a turtle! War is not about talking, people will die. What's the point of you conquering Beiping? It's just to make the war report look better. The main force of the Yan army is in Yongping. As long as the Yan army is not destroyed and the old nest is gone, the King of Yan can just find a place to build another one. If you have the guts, go to Yongping and fight the King of Yan."
This slapped Li Jinglong in the face, because that was exactly what Li Jinglong thought. Although the Yan army was small, they were good at fighting. Even Geng Bingwen was not as good as them. He was a little scared, so even though he knew that the main force of the Yan army was in Yongping, he did not dare to confront them directly.
It was different in Beiping. Its defense was weak. The Prince of Yan, a fat white man, was useless. The 500,000-strong army was like a python, which could easily strangle Beiping to death.
Once the city of Beiping is captured, it will be the first great victory since the Northern Expedition! The court and Emperor Jianwen really need a great victory to inspire people.
Li Jinglong then slammed the table and stood up, "The entire army should quickly move camp and march to Beiping. There should be no delay. If there is any delay—"
Li Jinglong's eyes turned cold: "Anyone who disobeys military orders will be executed!"
As soon as Li Jinglong gave the order, a secret agent of the Embroidered Uniform Guard sent a carrier pigeon to Beiping City to report the general's order.
Li Jinglong obviously lacked understanding of Beiping City. He only knew that Beiping City was the fat white man, the Prince of Yan, but he ignored another hidden figure in Beiping City - the Princess of Yan.
Princess Xu of Yan was the eldest daughter of Xu Da, the first meritorious minister in the founding of the Ming Dynasty. The city of Beiping was originally conquered by her father Xu Da. Now she became the mistress of this city and was deeply loved by the people of Yan.
The daughter of a general, Xu, was said to have mastered martial arts since childhood and was raised as a boy by Xu Da. She loved reading and was resourceful. "She was chaste and quiet since childhood, loved reading, and was known as a female scholar."
The Princess of Yan married the Prince of Yan at the age of 14. Now the Prince of Yan has three sons and four daughters, all of whom were born to the Princess of Yan. When the Prince of Yan went to war, the Princess of Yan and the Prince of Yan were actually guarding Beiping City together.
The Prince of Yan's Mansion received the news that Li Jinglong was going to attack the city. The Princess of Yan learned from the intelligence that the 500,000 Northern Expedition troops were short of food and fodder, so she immediately ordered to "fortify the city and clear the fields" and bring the autumn grain into the city in advance. All the people and livestock in the suburbs were moved into the city and their houses were burned down, leaving not a single blade of grass, a piece of tile, or a bite of food for Li Jinglong.
Afterwards, the Princess of Yan used an emergency military order to recall Mu Chun, who was guarding Shanhaiguan to prevent the invasion of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
Mu Chun thought that Princess Yan wanted him to help defend the city, but Princess Yan clapped her hands and said, "Wife, leave Ji'er to Lord Mu."
The Crown Prince's Consort Zhang came out from behind a screen, leading a one-year-old boy. The boy must have just learned to walk, and he was wobbling like a little fat duck, with a posture very similar to his fat father.
Zhu Gaochi, the prince of Yan, likes quietness, has a calm personality, is fat, and is not good at fighting. However, as the prince of Yan, he will inherit the family business in the future, so he is responsible for staying in Peking and guarding the rear area.
Zhu Gaochi's Crown Princess Zhang was also selected by Hu Shanwei in the "marriage with commoners and selection of land and fields" campaign. Zhang's father was only a small flag officer of Yongcheng, Henan Province, and an eighth-rank military officer. During the selection, Zhang became famous for killing a poisonous snake with a fire stick. Hu Shanwei admired the courage of this snake-killing girl and felt that her character was very compatible with the slightly mild-mannered Crown Prince of Yan. When Emperor Gaozu was "assigning" wives to his grandsons, he mentioned this to Hu Shanwei. Emperor Gaozu still believed in Hu Shanwei's judgment and finally married Zhang to the Crown Prince of Yan.
This little fat boy is Zhu Zhanji, the only grandchild of the Prince of Yan's Mansion. He was born to the Crown Prince and his wife Zhang. Like Mu Chun's daughter A Lei, he was born in the spring of February in the 31st year of Hongwu. When Mu Chun saw the toddler Zhu Zhanji, she immediately thought of her own precious daughter, and her eyes softened.
The Princess of Yan and the Crown Prince's Consort bowed deeply to Mu Chun. "Beiping is in danger now. Even if we can hold on this time, there will be constant wars in the future. I have decided to hand over the legitimate son and grandson of the Prince of Yan's Mansion to Lord Mu. I ask Lord Mu to take the sea route from Haijin (now Tianjin) to the Central Plains, and then secretly send him to Yunnan for protection. When the Jingnan Campaign is victorious in the future, the Prince of Yan's Mansion will send someone to bring Ji'er back."
In their eyes, Mu Chun was simply a treasure man. Feng Sheng's entire family, Ji Gang, the last grandson of the Chang family, Chang Jizu, and countless old noble families who wanted to escape the genocide of Emperor Gaozu all chose to hide in Yunnan. They all hid very well and none of them got into trouble.
Mu Chun: Well, our great Yunnan is almost becoming a refugee camp. Why are so many people hiding in Yunnan
But this little fat boy was a hot potato, and it was not easy to accept. Mu Chun was about to refuse, but the Crown Prince's Consort Zhang gently pushed the little fat boy and said, "Mother has taught you many times, what should you call Lord Mu? If you call it right, you will get candy."
The little fat boy was very intelligent and spoke early. When he heard that there was candy, he ran over and hugged Mu Chun's thighs, "Godfather."
After hearing this, Mu Chun almost burst into tears on the spot: Since he became a father, he has never heard his own daughter call him daddy. Now that this little fat boy calls him godfather, it can be rounded off as daddy.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Princess Yan and Princess Crown Prince, know Mu Chun's weak spot very well!
Mu Chun had no way to refuse and picked up the little fat boy. "Don't worry, there is no one in Yunnan that I can't hide."
Without any worries, the Princess of Yan's face changed immediately. The loving and reluctant look she had just shown when she saw her grandson off disappeared, and she was filled with murderous intent. She gently stretched out her arms and said, "Put on the armor for me. I'm going to meet this Li Jinglong."
The Crown Prince's Consort Zhang and the Crown Prince's Consort Guo put on armor for their mother-in-law together. Guo was the second daughter of the Marquis of Wuding's Mansion. She came from a distinguished family. If Emperor Gaozu had not insisted on "marrying commoners and selecting beauties from the fields", she would have been qualified to be the Crown Prince's Consort.
However, after Emperor Jianwen came to power, he alienated the Guo family. The Guo family, one of the five rings left by Emperor Gaozu, simply threw themselves into the arms of Prince Yan. Although Guo was a concubine in Prince Yan's mansion, her status and treatment were similar to those of a common wife. Crown Princess Zhang also respected her very much and called her a sister.
Zhang was from a family of minor military officers, and Guo was the daughter of a general. They were very familiar with weapons and armor, and the two of them cooperated well and quickly tied the armor on the mother-in-law. Not only that, they also put on soft armor, dressed like men, carried bows and arrows, held swords and guns, and followed the mother-in-law to the city wall, one on the left and one on the right. They looked very familiar with it, and it was obvious that they did this often. Taking up weapons to protect their homes was also their mission.
The author has something to say: The united front work of Prince Yan’s Mansion is great.
There is a 200-point big red envelope prize topic tonight, and it is still about finding Jay Chou... There are two lyrics of Jay Chou in this chapter. You will get 100 points if you find one. If you find both at the same time, you will get two 100 points. Of course, the points are given to the first one to find it. It's time to test everyone's memory and hand speed.