Shen Qionglian then secretly discussed the matter of transoceanic voyage with the Shen family. The Shen family was wealthy, and the older generation still had sea charts and blueprints of ships that could withstand the huge waves at sea. The Hongwu Dynasty began to implement a maritime ban, prohibiting no ships from going to sea, but money makes the world go round, and driven by huge profits, maritime smuggling continued despite repeated bans. The Shen family conducted transactions on the black market, recruited sailors and mercenaries to fight pirates, and things went smoothly.
Shen Qionglian controlled the Shangyi Bureau, so she had plenty of ways to keep letters from being opened and inspected, and she could tell Hu Shanwei about the progress of the ship from time to time.
After the spring, the Yan army turned from defense to offense. Wasn't there a barrier in Jinan that was difficult to conquer before? The King of Yan came up with a way to solve this barrier - the Ming Dynasty was vast, so was it necessary to pass through the city of Jinan? If you can't afford to fight, you can always hide.
Prince Yan was a man who could bend and stretch himself. He had previously put on a brilliant show of feigning illness, pretending to have a stroke, with a crooked mouth and nose, and drooling, and used this as an excuse to bring his four children back to Peking. Now, avoiding Jinan was a piece of cake for him, and it was not a shame.
The Yan army did not go through Jinan, but carried out the most impressive "overtaking on a curve" in history. The Yan army crossed the river from Guantao, avoiding Sheng Yong's large army, and attacked Dong'a, Dongping, Wenshang and other weakly defended cities along the way. Thanks to Ji Gang's meticulous intelligence from the Jinyiwei, the Prince of Yan knew the Southern Army's deployment in more detail than Emperor Jianwen.
From the twelfth to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, in just fifteen days, the Yan army passed through Shandong like a sharp arrow and arrived at Pei County, which was already in Jiangsu.
On the 30th day of the first lunar month, the Yan army arrived at Xuzhou!
At this time, the main force of the Southern Army led by Sheng Yong was still in Shandong.
Upon hearing the news, the capital city trembled. After seeing the military report, Emperor Jianwen felt for the first time that the empire was about to collapse. At the grand court meeting, civil and military officials discussed who should go to Xuzhou to stop the Yan army.
A general volunteered, saying, "I am willing to go to Xuzhou to stop the Yan army."
In an instant, the Fengtian Hall, which had been as noisy as a vegetable market just now, became quiet.
This person was none other than Xu Huizu, the second Duke of Wei, the elder brother of Princess Xu of Yan, and the eldest son of Xu Da, the first meritorious minister in the founding of the Ming Dynasty.
Xu Huizu was originally a strong candidate for the first Northern Expedition Marshal. A descendant of a military family, he was an outstanding general of the young generation of the Ming Dynasty. He often guarded the border and had rich practical experience. With the reputation of his father Xu Da, Xu Huizu was different from Li Jinglong, who was only good at talking about war on paper and kept running away and retreating when fighting. Xu Huizu had real ability.
However, Emperor Jianwen was narrow-minded and never dared to use him. Even though Geng Bingwen and Li Jinglong, the two commanders, were defeated one after another, Emperor Jianwen still did not dare to use him.
Xu Huizu also knew that he was not welcome, but the Ming Dynasty was at a critical juncture and was almost attacked by the Yan army. If he remained silent, he would probably be regarded as a spy of the Yan army.
Xu Huizu urgently needed a battle to demonstrate his loyalty.
Seeing that Emperor Jianwen was still undecided, Xu Huizu continued, "The Princess of Yan is my sister. However, a daughter who is married off is like water spilled, and a woman is subject to her husband after marriage. The Xu family of Duke Wei's Mansion has always been loyal to the Ming Dynasty and to Your Majesty."
Emperor Jianwen paused and asked, "If Duke Wei met his nephew Zhu Gaoxu on the battlefield, what would he do?"
Zhu Gaochi, the crown prince of Yan, was responsible for guarding Beiping. His second son Zhu Gaoxu had always followed the prince of Yan to fight and made numerous contributions. Xu Huizu was Zhu Gaoxu's uncle.
Everyone's eyes were on Xu Huizu, including Xu Huizu's younger brother Xu Zengshou. When Xu Zengshou was young, he was the most dissolute playboy in the capital, and was considered a big cancer in the capital along with the "devil of the world" Mu Chun. Later, Xu Zengshou married Mu Chun's older sister, but the two had no children. Xu Zengshou did not remarry or take a concubine, but adopted a son of his eldest brother Xu Huizu.
Xu Zengshou was uneducated and unskilled. He only got a nominal position of a first-rank military officer by relying on the favor of his great father Xu Da. He only stood on duty and "punched in" during the court meetings. Because Xu Zengshou was too idle, when the four children of the Prince of Yan's Mansion were hostages in the capital, his eldest uncle Xu Huizu was stationed outside the border all year round. Most of the time, he was protected by his second uncle, who often took him to his maternal grandfather's house, the Duke of Wei, for gatherings and play.
Xu Zengshou had no children, so he had a particularly close relationship with his nephews. Later, when Prince of Yan launched the Jingnan Rebellion, Xu Zengshou was naturally pulled into Prince of Yan's camp by Ji Gang, and much of the court's military intelligence was obtained by Xu Zengshou and given to Ji Gang.
Xu Zengshou had been trying to persuade his elder brother Xu Huizu to "join the group". Anyway, the young emperor had always been wary of him and suspicious of him. Why bother with his loyalty? He might as well follow his elder brother-in-law, the Prince of Yan.
But Xu Huizu rejected his brother's proposals every time. His father Xu Da treated his two sons differently since they were young. The first son was raised according to the book, and the second son was raised like a pig. The eldest son wanted to inherit the family business and continue the glory of the Xu family, so in addition to strict training in martial arts and military tactics, he also paid close attention to ideological and political education such as loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. The younger son was left to his own devices and was spoiled to grow up.
Therefore, Xu Zengshou defected to Prince of Yan early on, while Xu Huizu was a little foolishly loyal. However, before his death, his father Xu Da repeatedly asked Xu Huizu to take good care of his stupid brother. Xu Huizu knew that his brother had defected to Yan, but he kept it a secret and did not expose his brother, nor was he dragged into the Prince of Yan's camp by his brother.
Originally, Emperor Jianwen did not want to use Xu Huizu, but now the Prince of Yan's troops were approaching Xuzhou, getting closer and closer to the capital, and the Southern Army led by Sheng Yong was still circling in Shandong. He sat on the dragon throne, looking at the rows of military generals, and the only person who could be used to lead the troops to fight was Xu Huizu!
The rest of the powerful generals were basically wiped out by his grandfather, Emperor Gaozu.
Emperor Jianwen was forced into a corner and had no choice but to ask Xu Huizu a dilemma: "If Daming and your nephew fell into the water, who would you save first?"
Xu Huizu decided to volunteer and had already prepared an answer. Without blinking, he said, "I am the Duke of Wei of the Ming Dynasty. I receive a salary from the court and am loyal to the court. On the battlefield, there are only Ming generals and rebels, not uncles and nephews."
The implication was that even if he faced his nephew Zhu Gaoxu, he would kill him without hesitation.
The family fought against each other, the uncle and nephew killed each other, and the brother-in-law and brother-in-law fought a decisive battle on the battlefield.
Emperor Jianwen was forced to believe Xu Huizu, "Okay, I will give you 50,000 troops to support Xuzhou immediately."
At the grand court meeting, the expressions of the civil and military officials were different: some were admiring, some were contemptuous, some were conflicted, and some were suspicious.
But Xu Huizu ignored the others and immediately took the imperial token to recruit soldiers and rushed to the battlefield. His younger brother Xu Zengshou chased after him and whispered: "Brother, your method is still the best. Take the troops to Xuzhou and cooperate with the King of Yan to capture Xuzhou."
Xu Huizu stopped and looked at his brother coldly, "People with different ideals cannot work together. You and I are brothers. Now we are on our own. You are my brother, I will not report you, but from now on, I will not protect you anymore. You... take care of yourself."
Xu Huizu rode away. Xu Zengshou was stunned for a moment. From childhood to adulthood, his elder brother, like his father, had hardly ever refused his requests. He indulged him and spoiled him, almost raising his younger brother like his own son.
Now Xu Zengshou is over 40 years old, but his eldest brother has not divided the family property and lets him live in the Duke of Wei's mansion. Whenever he gets something, he gives the best to him first. He also adopts a son under his name so that there will be someone to bury him and burn incense for him in the future. It can be said that his eldest brother has made clear arrangements for him from cradle to grave.
Xu Zengshou didn't believe that his elder brother had cut off ties with him like that, so he spurred his horse and chased after him, "Brother, if you meet Zhu Gaoxu, will you really draw your sword against your own nephew?"
Xu Huizu said: "Let alone my nephew, even if I meet the eldest sister of the Princess of Yan...if she is stubborn and refuses to surrender, I will definitely be merciless!"
Seeing his elder brother's resolute answer, Xu Zengshou realized that there would inevitably be a decisive battle between his elder brother and his brother-in-law.
No matter who wins or loses, Xu Zengshou cannot accept it. What should he do
Xu Zengshou met with Ji Gang and said, "I don't care what method you use. Anyway, my brother can be defeated, but he cannot die. As long as he is alive, I will persuade him to change his mind."
Ji Gang patted his chest and said, "Leave it to me. In fact, Prince Yan doesn't want to touch his brother-in-law. We are all family. Why bother to fight? I just hope Prince Yan can cross the river to Beijing as soon as possible, so Master Xu won't have to worry so much."
In addition to sending Xu Huizu to support Xuzhou, Emperor Jianwen also sent his second uncle, Princess Ningguo's consort Mei Yin, to guard Huai'an. Princess Ningguo was born to Empress Xiaoci and had a noble status. Mei Yin was also one of the ministers of state left by Emperor Gaozu to Emperor Jianwen.
Because Fengyang was not far from Xuzhou, Emperor Jianwen also sent people to secretly bring the imprisoned King Zhou and his family to the capital as hostages. If the King of Yan wanted to attack the city, he would tie King Zhou to the city wall to repel the enemy. The King of Yan and King Zhou had a deep brotherly love, so they would definitely not fire at their own brother.
Hu Shanwei received new instructions from Ji Gang - to find out where King Zhou and his family were imprisoned and to rescue them before they were tied to the city wall and used as cannon fodder.
Hu Shanwei was certain that Emperor Jianwen was capable of such a thing. For someone who even killed his own mother and brother, he had no bottom line.
Hu Shanwei quickly got information from the imperial study—Prince Zhou and his family were imprisoned in a side hall of the Xiaoling Mausoleum, and were guarded by the trusted palace guards of Emperor Jianwen.
Princess Huaiqing was extremely worried. No one cared about her half brother more than she did. She and Ji Gang immediately thought of a solution. "My biological mother, Concubine Chengmu, was buried behind the Xiaoling Mausoleum. All of them are my people, but I cannot get into the important area of the Xiaoling Mausoleum."
Ji Gang used a small ruler to measure the distance between Concubine Cheng Mu's mausoleum and the side hall where King Zhou was imprisoned. "The high walls between the mausoleums are tightly guarded. It is difficult for us to climb over them, but—"
Ji Gang drew a circle on a high wall with a red pen. "The ground here is soft. We can dig a tunnel here from the mausoleum of Concubine Chengmu, rescue Prince Zhou and his family, and then blow up the tunnel and escape. However, if Prince Zhou escapes from the mausoleum of Concubine Chengmu, even if we create the illusion that the Yan thieves broke in, the emperor will definitely suspect the princess because of his paranoia."
Princess Huaiqing was also spoiled by Emperor Gaozu and grew up with the pride of a Ming princess. "So what if you suspect me? First, there is no evidence. Second, I am a Ming princess and he is my nephew. How can a nephew kill his aunt on a trumped-up charge? It has never happened before. Who dares to touch me?"
Ji Gang admired Princess Huaiqing's courage and her brotherly love for King Zhou, but he was still a little worried. "The emperor's political tactics are childish and bold, and he often ignores the consequences. Don't forget how Princess Qingyang became Princess Qingcheng. Emperor Gaozu made an exception to confer titles on princesses, but he can't just demote them at will."
Princess Huaiqing sneered, "It doesn't matter if I am demoted to a princess or a commoner. After all, my fourth brother has come here and I am still a princess. Now that my fourth brother has arrived in Xuzhou, how far can the capital be? Besides, other than digging a tunnel from my mother's mausoleum, do you have any better idea?"
No. Consort Chengmu Sun was a concubine that Emperor Gaozu and Empress Xiaoci loved very much, so the mausoleum where she was buried was closest to the Xiaoling Mausoleum.
When Concubine Chengmu died, she was faced with the embarrassing situation of no one to take charge of her funeral because she had no children. It was Hu Shanwei's suggestion that Emperor Gaozu promulgated the "Record of Filial Piety and Kindness", which changed the old mourning system of "father is superior to mother, no double mourning in the family, no mourning for concubine mother" for thousands of years, and ordered a new mourning system of "parents are equally respected, and all sons mourn for concubine mother for one year".
With the promulgation of the new filial piety system, and considering the contribution of Concubine Chengmu in raising Prince Zhou, Emperor Gaozu required Prince Zhou to regard Concubine Chengmu as his biological mother, to observe mourning for 27 months, and to preside over the funeral for the Concubine. Only in this way could the Concubine be buried in a decent manner.
After all, people are emotional. Even in the cold royal family, there is warmth. Prince Zhou's filial piety towards Concubine Chengmu was seen and remembered by his biological daughter, Princess Huaiqing. For this rare relationship, she was willing to take risks.
King Zhou had not expected that his filial piety towards Concubine Chengmu would become his escape route in the future.
While Ji Gang and Princess Huaiqing were busy digging tunnels, the situation on the front battlefield was unpredictable. There were new battle reports every day. Prince Yan attacked Xuzhou, and Xuzhou sent troops to fight, but was defeated by Prince Yan. The troops simply stayed indoors and defended the city gates.
The Prince of Yan tasted the sweetness of bypassing Jinan and heading south directly, so why would he continue to attack fiercely as before? After all, Jiangsu was so large that all roads led to the capital, so the Prince of Yan no longer wanted to fight and changed his route to head south from Suzhou.
It was not until this time that the Southern Army from Shandong came to rescue. The Prince of Yan had already made arrangements and set up an ambush, and repelled the Southern Army led by Ping An and Tie Xuan.
Prince Yan built a pontoon bridge to cross the river. While crossing the river, reinforcements led by his brother-in-law Xu Huizu arrived. Xu Huizu fulfilled his promise. Facing Prince Yan's surrender, Xu Huizu was ruthless and ordered a decisive battle with the "Yan bandits" at Qimei Mountain.
Xu Huizu was worthy of being the descendant of Xu Da. Under his command, the Southern Army won a great victory and the Yan Army was defeated. Not only that, the Yan Army also lost a great general, Li Bin.
In the defeat at Qimei Mountain, the King of Yan not only lost his brother-in-law but also his troops. Not only that, it was almost May at this time, and the Yan army was basically composed of northerners who were not accustomed to the southern heat and the infestation of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes spread diseases, and the Yan army suffered from heatstroke or fell ill, and their morale was low.
As much as the Southern Army feared the northern winter in the past, the Yan Army is now as afraid of the southern summer!
The summer in Jiangsu is hot and stuffy, just like a big steamer. In order to cool down and prevent diseases, the King of Yan shaved his beard and wore armor on his body, like a cooked crab.
At this time, his subordinates suggested returning to Peking to escape the summer heat, and then heading south to attack the city when it got cooler.
We have already reached Jiangsu and our pants have been taken off. Should we put them back on? The King of Yan refused and pointed to the river in front of him, "Those who want to cross the river should go left, and those who don't should go right."
As expected of the elite troops of Yan, they fought all the way here, and most of the remaining ones were determined. Upon hearing this, most of them stood on the left, but there was also a small group standing on the right, wanting to go home to escape the heat. They were not afraid of death, they were afraid of the heat...
Prince of Yan Zhu Di had the courage of Han Xin who fought a desperate battle, and continued to encourage his subordinates who were afraid of heat: "Emperor Gaozu of Han lost nine out of ten battles, but he finally ruled the world..."
On this side of the river, the morale of the Yan army gradually recovered under the King of Yan's highly inflammatory speech.
On the other side of the river, the Southern Army General Xu Huizu was preparing his troops and pursuing the victory, preparing to deal the final blow to his elder brother-in-law and annihilate the Yan army on the spot.
Just when Xu Huizu ordered the expedition, a shrill voice rang out: "The imperial edict has arrived!"
Xu Huizu had no choice but to dismount and accept the order. The angel opened the bright yellow imperial edict: "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims: The capital cannot be without good generals. First, recall Xu Huizu, Duke of Wei, to defend the capital. I decree this!"
Xu Huizu was confused. "Why did you call me back? I just won a victory. The morale of the Yan army is low. They are not used to the heat in the south. There are epidemics everywhere. Their combat effectiveness is weak. This is a good time for our army to attack."
The angel sneered: "We are only here to announce the emperor's decree. The emperor has his own reasons for wanting Duke Wei to return."
Xu Huizu was a loyal man. He knew that the order was flawed and he had missed the opportunity to fight, but he had no choice but to hand over the tiger talisman and head to the capital.
Why did Emperor Jianwen summon Xu Huizu back to Beijing? Because his younger brother Xu Zengshou spread the word throughout the capital that his brother cried in front of his father Xu Da's spirit tablet before leaving, saying that he would definitely protect his family, his older sister and nephews, and asked his father not to worry.
As a result, Emperor Jianwen, who was already wavering, began to doubt Xu Huizu's loyalty. He was afraid that he would lead his troops to defect to Prince of Yan, which would be like throwing a meat bun against a dog, so he simply called Roubaozi back.
The author has something to say: The time for Emperor Jianwen is running out...
Today's update is early, please comment~~~~~~
I can finish the Jingnan Rebellion tomorrow. Huhuhuhu, start writing the technical summary of the Second Dynasty’s Shanggong.
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