Among three brothers, one of them must be upset.
The one who feels this frustrated is usually the second child, because the eldest child is the first born and has natural advantages and resources in terms of inheritance rights. The third child is the youngest and is naturally loved by his parents. The second child is stuck in the middle, with fewer resources than the eldest and less love than the third child, so the second child is usually the hardest-working one.
This was the case with the King of Han. During the Jingnan Campaign, the eldest and third brothers were in Beijing, and he was the only one who followed his father to fight everywhere. He showed extraordinary military talent and saved his father from trouble several times. That was the time when their father-son relationship was the best.
Emperor Yongle even said to him: "Work hard, the prince is in poor health."
It was at that time that the King of Han began to want to replace his eldest brother, thinking that his father wanted him to be the heir.
Emperor Yongle: Second brother, you really think too much...
Now, the King of Han had finally defeated the Crown Prince, forcing him to stay indoors in the East Palace like a turtle. Even when his most trusted teacher Xie Jin froze to death in the snow, the Crown Prince said nothing and continued to live his life as usual, with his mouth as tight as a river clam, unable to utter a single word of begging for mercy.
However, Ji Gang's warning gave the King of Han a new enemy, the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince is only fifteen years old this year and has no power. The King of Han looks down on him. He feels that he is the elder and has strong troops and horses. He will do his best to compete with the eldest brother and the third brother, but there is no fun in bullying a child.
The King of Han thought that as long as the Crown Prince recognized the situation and retreated when he saw difficulty, he would not bother with the Crown Prince.
The King of Han invited his eldest nephew to review the troops together and watch the latest formation of the Tian Ce Guard. The Tian Ce Guard was originally a branch of the imperial guards, but was requested by the King of Han to become the guards of the Han Palace.
The King of Han just wanted to show his strength in front of his nephew and make him retreat. As the saying goes, courtesy comes before force. After all, they are family members. It would be ugly to tear their faces apart, not to mention that the other party is a junior.
Eunuch Wang Zhen delivered the invitation to the crown prince's desk. Zhu Zhanji read it and closed the invitation. "Go to the Prince of Han's mansion and tell them that I will be there on time."
Wang Zhen couldn't help but worry about the Crown Prince, "This... The Tiance Guard has changed from a royal guard to the private army of the King of Han. In addition to weapons, the Tiance Guard exercises also include artillery and firearms. Swords and knives have no eyes, just like the Hongmen Banquet, where Xiang Zhuang danced with a sword, aiming at Pei Gong. Your Highness should think twice."
Zhu Zhanji had seen through everything and smiled faintly, "I'm not afraid that he has intentions, I'm just afraid that he has no intentions. You can just go and tell him."
Wang Zhen was confused and had to obey the order.
Three days later, the Tiance Guards began an exercise in an open area. The content of the exercise was siege.
The main body of this section of the wall is rammed earth, covered with bricks and stones, and was built using local materials from an abandoned city wall. It is a thousand years old and is said to have been built during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
At that time, there was chaos in the north and the Jin Dynasty was destroyed. A branch of the Sima family fled to the south, which was known as the land of barbarians, and built a new capital, naming it Jiankang. This was the predecessor of Nanjing.
After thousands of years of ups and downs, there is no trace of the former Healthy City, only a few sections of the old city wall remain. In ancient times, there was no concept of cultural relics protection, and the city wall was not an antique that could be bought and sold, so it was not valuable, so it was simply used for attack and defense exercises.'
A row of scarecrows were erected on the city wall to serve as enemy troops. Below the wall, the Tian Ce Guards were deployed with ten brand new Portuguese cannons at the forefront, followed by nine rows of musketeers, behind the musketeers were archers, behind the archers were infantry, and the infantry were surrounded by ladders that were almost as high as the city wall.
There was a dirt slope next to the battlefield, where tents were set up. The King of Han arrived first, and at 7 a.m., the Crown Prince's carriage appeared on time, with complete ceremonial guards, clear flags, and a very imposing manner.
The King of Han galloped his horse to greet him. The King of Han bowed first, performing the great etiquette between a monarch and his subject. Zhu Zhanji got off the carriage and helped the King of Han up. He bowed in return and treated him with family courtesy.
The King of Han made a gesture of invitation and left before the Crown Prince. The King of Han led the way and pointed at the exercising team and gave explanations.
The King of Han is older than the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince is the monarch and the King of Han is the minister. Strictly speaking, it is inappropriate for the King of Han to walk in front of the Crown Prince or even walk side by side with him.
The King of Han did it on purpose, strictly observing etiquette in major ceremonies. For example, when the monarch and his subjects met just now, he performed the etiquette of a subject first, so as to avoid being caught and accused of disrespecting the monarch and his subjects.
But he pretended to ignore the small details intentionally. In this way, even if someone reported it, his father would not pay attention to these small details, and would think that these people were meddling and deliberately alienating the royal family.
This was not the first time that the King of Han had done such a thing. The lame prince had difficulty walking and needed two strong eunuchs to support him. When the two brothers walked, the King of Han often walked in front of the prince.
This time, the King of Han invited the Crown Prince to review the troops, and the Crown Prince used the same old trick. However, the Crown Prince was not used to the King of Han's bad habits, and relying on a pair of long legs as slender as a praying mantis, he took big strides, quickened the pace, and was not afraid of hurting his balls. He caught up with the King of Han in two strokes, and always kept a distance of half a shoulder ahead of the King of Han.
The King of Han keenly felt that Zhu Zhanji and the Crown Prince were different. The Crown Prince was kind and humble, while this eldest nephew was sharp and aggressive, and did not want to fall behind others.
However, the King of Han had another trick up his sleeve.
The King of Han invited Zhu Zhanji to take the seat of honor, and he sat at the bottom. After he sat down, Zhu Zhanhe, the Prince of Han, who was dressed in military uniform, came over to ask his eldest cousin for instructions, "The army is ready, please give instructions, Grand Crown Prince."
Zhu Zhanji was like a slender mantis, while Zhu Zhanhe was half a head taller than his cousin, and his body was as solid as an iron tower. The King of Han intended to train this successor, and even this drill was under the full responsibility of Zhu Zhanhe, who was just a hands-off manager.
Zhu Zhanji looked at this cousin who grew up with him, his eyes softened, and he raised his hand, "Let's get started."
"Yes." Zhu Zhanhe stepped back, jumped on his horse, waved his hand, and shouted in a hoarse voice: "Attack the city!"
The war drums are beating.
The ten cannons in front fired at the city wall at the same time. The sound of the explosion was earth-shaking, as if you were on a battlefield.
The King of Han observed from the corner of his eye whether his nephew showed any fear.
The gunfire was scorching and would hurt the eyes. The eunuch Wang Zhen, who was serving beside him, hurriedly handed over a pair of black crystal glasses, which were used by astrologers to observe the stars.
Zhu Zhanji put on dark crystal glasses. Eyes are the windows to the soul, and now the windows are covered with film. The King of Han could not figure out what was in his nephew's mind.
The siege began with artillery fire, which blasted the thousand-year-old rammed earth walls into a hornet's nest. However, the rammed earth walls of the Eastern Jin Dynasty were too thick, and each of the ten cannons used up a cart of ammunition. The walls did not collapse immediately, except for a face full of acne pits, like the face of an adolescent boy, and seemed to be able to hold out for a while.
This was beyond the expectations of Commander-in-Chief Zhu Zhanhe. He thought that such strong artillery fire might be invincible. After the city wall collapsed, nine rows of musketeers would conduct three-stage shooting with continuous gunfire to suppress the enemy's offensive. Then the archers and infantry would use ladders to attack and seize the city in one fell swoop.
However, Zhu Zhanhe prepared a second plan. He raised the yellow flag and said, "Push the siege vehicle!"
The artillery vehicles bowed out, and three large vehicles as big as three-story buildings slowly approached the tall city wall. This siege vehicle was ten feet taller than the city wall. The musketeers and archers climbed to the top of the siege vehicle via ladders, and under the cover of bunkers, they shot at the scarecrow enemy troops on the city wall from a high vantage point.
With musketeers and archers suppressing the enemy from high ground, the infantrymen under the city wall took the opportunity to climb up to the city wall with ladders and fought a life-and-death battle with the scarecrow enemy. Finally, they chopped off the enemy's broken flag and planted their own red pennant.
The whole Yanxi performance was exhilarating, with the sounds of war drums, fighting, fire/gunfire, and arrows spinning and flying in the air, just like experiencing a real battlefield.
The King of Han observed his nephew's expression. From beginning to end, his expression remained normal. He was not frightened at all. He was calm and composed. With the addition of brown sunglasses, he seemed mysterious.
The King of Han thought to himself: It seems that this attack of force missed the target. Is my nephew pretending to be calm, or did I underestimate him
At this time, Zhu Zhanhe came over to announce the good news, "The exercise is complete, please give your instructions, Crown Prince."
Zhu Zhanji nodded and said, "Very good, you have the courage of my Ming army to attack like the wind. Reward."
Zhu Zhanji came with gifts prepared.
Wang Zhen went down to arrange the rewards, which were all practical rewards such as gold, silver, colorful silk and the like. The Crown Prince was generous and magnanimous. The Tian Ce Guards who received the rewards lined up again, shouted "Long Live the Crown Prince" three times, and collectively thanked the Crown Prince for the gifts.
The voice of Qiansui resounded throughout the valley. The King of Han was a little unhappy when he heard it. He thought, I invited you to a military parade, why did you bring so many gifts? Are you here to buy people's hearts
The Prince of Han took great pains to arrange the military parade, but it seemed like he was just making wedding clothes for others, letting Zhu Zhanji show favors to the Tiance Guards in order to win people's hearts. It should be noted that the Tiance Guards originally belonged to the imperial guards, and it was the Prince of Han who acted coquettishly to Emperor Yongle and forcibly borrowed them to the Prince of Han's Palace to become one of the palace guards. Today, the salaries of the Tiance Guards are still paid from the imperial guards, and they are supported by the court, not the Prince of Han.
Moreover, there are nearly 4,000 people in the Tian Ce Guard, and each of them will be rewarded. The reward for the centurion who first cuts down the enemy’s flag will be ten taels. A rough calculation shows that the Crown Prince will need about 10,000 taels of silver to make this move.
I never expected that my nephew is actually quite rich. Where does his money come from? He spends money lavishly and has no sense of propriety. It is obvious that he did not make it himself. It must be given by his father... Why would this biased father give so much money to a child? When I was his age, the monthly allowance was basically spent on the 15th day of the lunar month. Every time, I would shamelessly ask my eldest brother for pocket money.
The King of Han was jealous of the Crown Prince, and now he is jealous of the Crown Prince's grandson.
Who knew that the Crown Prince was so shameless that after hearing the three cheers of "Long live the Tiance Guards", he seemed to be enjoying it very much. He actually stood up, took off his sunglasses and said, "The Tiance Guards' siege exercise is so exciting. I am sitting on the stage, too far away from them, and cannot see the faces of these heroes clearly. I want to personally go down and inspect them."
After saying this, before the King of Han could react, Zhu Zhanji walked out of the throne with his long legs, went to the parade ground, and came into close contact with the Tiance Guards.
Zhu Zhanji was the king, and he was determined to go down for inspection. The King of Han did not dare to stop him by force, so he and his son Zhu Zhanhe surrounded Zhu Zhanji on the left and right.
The inspection began with the infantry phalanx. Since they had just received generous rewards from Zhu Zhanji, their morale was high. Every time Zhu Zhanji passed a team, the shouts of "Long live the Crown Prince" were so deafening that the King of Han's eardrums hurt and he began to have tinnitus.
When passing by the archers and musketeers, Zhu Zhanji picked up the new bow/crossbow that could shoot five arrows in a row with great interest. He skillfully put it on his arm and tried to shoot. Every arrow hit the center of the bull's eye, and the cheers in the army became louder.
The King of Han regretted his actions to the core: I suffered a great loss this time. I failed to show my power and instead let my nephew steal the limelight and win the hearts of the people. This military parade became his stage to perform.
Zhu Zhanji seemed to be having a lot of fun. He just put down his bow/crossbow and picked up a musket. This was a new type of flintlock rifle. It did not require a flint to light the fuse and could be fired by just pulling the trigger.
Zhu Zhanji tried firing three times, and every shot hit the target. It was obvious that he was an expert with a gun and practiced frequently.
"Long live the Crown Prince!"
Zhu Zhanji is young and promising with long legs. He seems to be thin when dressed, but in fact he has a lot of muscles and a good figure when undressed. He can wield any sword, gun, stick or club with great skill. He is best at bows and arrows and flintlock rifles. It seems that he has been to Shaolin and Wudang.
The Tian Ce Guards witnessed the Crown Prince’s performance with their own eyes and were all impressed, and instantly became fans of Zhu Zhanji.
Finally review the artillery formation.
Zhu Zhanji rubbed the polished Portuguese cannon with his hands, and he couldn't let it go. "Firearms are the future of the Ming Dynasty. These cannons are modified from the samples brought back by eunuch Zheng He during his last voyage to the West. The range and accuracy are better than before. Let me test fire one."
Zhu Zhanji was in high spirits. Zhu Zhanhe ordered the artillerymen to aim their guns at the rammed earth walls and lengthened the fuse of the artillery by about four times. He explained to Zhu Zhanji, "The longer the range of this artillery, the more powerful the fire, the greater the recoil after firing, and the artillery carriage is prone to losing control, so the artillerymen are all covered in dust and sometimes even hit by sports cars. I am worried that the artillery fire will stain the robes of the Crown Prince, so I lengthened the ignition fuse and put it further away from the artillery carriage."
Zhu Zhanji was proud of his younger brother who had grown up. "My cousin has become more and more careful. When I return to the palace after the inspection, I will definitely praise you in front of the emperor."
Zhu Zhanji turned on the flint and lit the fuse.
Hiss!
The flame of the fuse was like the tongue of a poisonous snake. There was only a loud bang, and the city wall was intact. The face was still full of pockmarks, but
The artillery carriage was torn into pieces, with debris all over the ground!
The Portuguese cannon exploded.
At the moment of the explosion, Zhu Zhanhe, who was dressed in military uniform, hugged Zhu Zhanji and used his body as a shield to protect his eldest cousin...
The author has something to say: It’s time to use your imagination to guess the murderer. I’m so excited. I’m rubbing my hands together. Whoever guesses correctly first will get a big red envelope of 100 points!!!
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魍魉, cam 20 bottles; Tiantian 10 bottles; Fanfan is sleepwalking, no need to return 5 bottles; I want a little corgi 3 bottles; Dimple 2 bottles; Xixi, Guanguan, stay out of the game, Qingxuanzhubaizhou 19 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!