Every autumn, the border would be in turmoil. Ever since the remnant Yuan fled to the grasslands and established the Northern Yuan regime, they resumed their nomadic lifestyle.
In winter, if there was not enough food and livestock, they would harass the border, burn, kill and loot. At this time, the Ming Dynasty mainly focused on defense, because the Ming army mainly came from the south, and it was difficult for them to survive the winter on the grassland, and they rarely took the initiative to attack. The result of the winter attack was basically that they lost their way in the blizzard on the grassland and then froze to death.
The Northern Yuan army usually ran away after looting and would not fight to the end. In any case, the Ming army would not keep chasing them.
Therefore, every time the Ming Dynasty launched a counterattack in the north, it would wait until the spring when the weather was warmer before setting out. After the fall, the situation at the border was tense, and various military movements and intelligence were transmitted to the Hongwu Emperor's desk day and night.
Judging from the gradually cooling look in Emperor Hongwu's eyes, the situation is not optimistic.
The day after Hu Shanwei left was the day of Frost's Descent, and Emperor Hongwu held a military review.
When the Ming Dynasty was founded, Emperor Hongwu believed that the rituals and music of the Yuan Dynasty had collapsed and the world was in chaos and disorder, so he resumed various ancient rituals, such as military ceremonies, and promoted flag and banner sacrifices. On the left side of the Mountain and River Altar, a special flag and banner temple was set up to enshrine seven major gods, including the Flag General and the Six Banner Generals. Every year on the two days of Jingzhe and Shuangjiang, he ordered Crown Prince Zhu Biao to lead the kings to worship the flag and banner.
Today is the Frost Descent Day. Emperor Hongwu personally offered sacrifices to the flags and held a military parade on the same day. A few days ago, the autumn harvest was good, and Emperor Hongwu ordered the grain officials in various places not to put the collected grain into the national treasury, but to send it directly to the border as military rations. There was a lot of discussion in the court:
The troops have not yet moved, but the food and fodder have already been sent. This is a sign of preparation for the fourth Northern Expedition!
On the day of the review, all officials wore bright red casual clothes and went to the Yuewu Gate to wait for the emperor to arrive.
As the second-rank commander of the Rear Army Governor's Office, Mu Chun also lined up in the military officer team, but in front of a group of dukes, marquises, earls and other military generals, his official position seemed low.
His father Mu Ying, Marquis of Xiping, his great-uncle Feng Sheng, Duke of Song, and his uncle Feng Cheng, Duke of Ying, were all in the front row. He stood at the back and could only see the backs of his predecessors.
Muchun looked up at the sky, wondering where Sister Shanwei was now? Was she looking at the same sun as me at this moment
The dazzling autumn sun hurt his eyes. He gave up looking at the sun and rubbed his eyes. He felt dizzy. The sky, the ground and himself were all dizzy. It was the first day of Sister Shanwei's business trip. I missed her.
In the distance, there were loud drum beats. Hongwu came in a chariot. Civil and military officials knelt down to welcome the emperor. The drum beats stopped only when the gong was sounded.
Emperor Hongwu took the throne, and Wu Lin, the Minister of War, requested: "Order each camp to organize its troops."
The horn was blown and the yellow flag was waved on the stage. Mu Chun changed into military uniform and returned to Yingyangwei, and the review began.
First, the formation was reviewed, three cannon shots were fired, and the officers and soldiers entered the training ground to demonstrate various formations. Emperor Hongwu watched Mu Chun lead the Eagle Guards to advance and retreat properly, with bright flags.
Ming, the emperor was very pleased and said to Xiping Hou Mu Ying: "The boy is teachable."
On the day of the military parade, Mu Ying could not say anything discouraging, so he could only pinch his nose and say, "Mu Chun has indeed made progress."
The next archery review had a wider scope of participants. After the request of the Minister of War Wu Lin, all the dukes, marquises, earls, prince consorts, commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and other high-ranking military officers, all came to the general platform to compare their archery skills.
There are two competitions in total. One is archery on horseback, in which you can shoot three arrows; the second is to dismount and stand on the ground to shoot six arrows, for a total of nine arrows.
If the target is hit, a drum will be beaten to report it. Censors and military officials will also be nearby to record and monitor to ensure fair competition.
While these generals were competing in riding and archery, on the other side of the parade ground, the Shenji Camp began to practice various guns, swords, and firearms in front of the emperor, displaying various new types of military equipment. Emperor Hongwu was particularly interested in firearms such as the Vulcan Spear and cannons, and even stepped down from the throne to watch them in detail.
After the firearms drill was over, the archery competition of the generals on the other side was also over. Minister Wu presented the results to Emperor Hongwu. Veterans such as Xu Da, Duke of Wei, and Mu Ying, Marquis of Xiping, all hit the target nine times out of nine. Even the young Mu Chun had the same good results. Emperor Hongwu was of course happy. He specially called the youngest Mu Chun to the throne and said, "You performed well today. What reward do you want?"
Mu Chun said: "According to the archery rules of the Grand Review, if you hit nine out of nine shots, you will be rewarded with ten taels of silver."
No matter how thick-skinned Mu Chun was, he didn't dare to ask for more.
The last time the Hongwu Emperor appointed him as the deputy commander of the rear army governor's office when he was only 17 years old, many people in the court were dissatisfied and felt that it was unfair. Even his own father Mu Ying begged the emperor to let him take the test first before appointing him.
Mu Chun still appears to be nonchalant on the surface, but he is actually under great pressure inside. He is training the troops in Yingyang Guard almost for his life. Although he is a virgin, he pretends to be an old hand in the world of pleasure, saying nonsense and doing obscene actions in order to scare away Sister Shanwei. He just wants to prove that he is worthy of this position and that he can be granted a title of nobility without relying on his father's favor.
The grand review was coming to an end and the tense atmosphere had relaxed. Emperor Hongwu looked at the army full of talented people, the inheritance of talents had never been broken, and there were talented people from generation to generation. This was the foundation for the Ming Dynasty to embark on the Fourth Northern Expedition. Emperor Hongwu was very satisfied and full of confidence.
Then he gave wine and food, and all the officials thanked him. When the wine was half drunk, Mu Chun's uncle, Feng Cheng, the Duke of Ying, seemed a little tipsy, and pointed at Mu Ying and Mu Chun and said, "It is said that the disciple surpasses the master. Today, my brother-in-law and my nephew have the same riding and archery results, which shows that my brother-in-law is still sharp, and my nephew still needs to work hard."
The conflict between Feng Cheng and Mu Ying was known to the whole city, and many people started to make a noise, "Today is a rare opportunity, and both father and son are here, can we have another fight to decide the winner?"
Mu Ying didn't want to fight: If he won, it would be his due, because he was the father. If he couldn't win, losing to his own son would be a loss of face.
Therefore, Mu Ying hated the bad idea given by his brother-in-law Feng Cheng - you are pretending to be drunk on purpose! Watch me make a fool of myself!
Emperor Hongwu was in a good mood today, and he was still not satisfied with the review. He thought this was a good idea, so he asked Mu Chun, "Chun'er, do you dare to challenge your father?"
Mu Chun was ecstatic: My father usually beats me up whenever he sees me! I am his son, I cannot resist and fight him, otherwise it would be unfilial, every time I can only run away in embarrassment, today I have the opportunity to fight him fairly, it is a godsend!
Then he said: "I will obey the emperor's orders."
Emperor Hongwu said, "Okay, let's have a horse-riding archery competition. Set up nine targets on the parade ground. You, father and son, will ride on horses and shoot arrows from the east and west directions. Whoever hits the most targets will win."
Muchun: Great! Horseback archery is exactly what I am good at.
The emperor's words were spoken with great force. No matter how reluctant Mu Ying was, he had to keep smiling and said, "Your Majesty, I obey your order."
Mu Chun picked up the longbow and was about to go down to prepare it. When Emperor Hongwu saw the half-worn bow in his hand, he was startled and asked, "Chun'er, this bow looks familiar."
Mu Chun presented the longbow with both hands, "Your Majesty has good eyesight. This is an old item from my grandfather, and my uncle gave it to me."
Feng Guoyong, Duke of Ying, died in battle at the age of thirty-six.
Emperor Hongwu rubbed the longbow in his hand, and the scenes of the heroes fighting for supremacy in the past came to his mind. "Your grandfather was a hero. If he were still alive..."
Emperor Hongwu was lost in memories, and the veterans present sighed with sadness. Even Princess Yan and Xu Zengshou's father, Duke of Wei Xu Da, the first meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty, sighed: "During the Battle of Shaoxing, Duke Ying saved my life. He rushed in to save me, but he himself was seriously injured and died without any medical treatment."
Speaking of his father, the second Duke of Ying, Feng Cheng, burst into tears on the spot.
When Mu Ying saw Feng Cheng crying, he also started crying for his father-in-law.
hypocritical!
Muchun cursed his father in his heart and thought, if my grandfather were still alive, my mother would not have died of depression, and you would not dare to beat me all the time.
Everyone was sad for a while, and when Mu Ying and Mu Chun started to compete in horseback archery, it was already dusk. The sun was setting, and this time was not good for people in the east, because riding and shooting against the light was very dazzling and it was easy to make mistakes.
Wu Lin, the Minister of War, was a clever nine-headed bird from Huanggang, Hubei. He held a brand new Hongwu Tongbao and said, "The position is determined by flipping a coin. If it's heads, the Marquis of Xiping is in the east, and if it's tails, the Marquis of Xiping is in the west."
There are words on the front of Hongwu Tongbao, and the weight of the coin is marked on the back.
Who of the father and son has the geographical advantage depends on fate and has nothing to do with him as the referee.
Mu Ying waved his hand and said: "No need, I am his father, I will go to the east."
Mu Chun was even more pretentious than his father, and said, "It is said that there is no father-son relationship on the battlefield. I cannot take advantage of you. If it is unfair, this competition will be meaningless. Please, Minister Wu, toss the coin."
I said this, but in my heart I said: It has to be positive!
Wu Lin threw a coin into the air. The coin spun and jumped, and finally landed in his palm. "Front side, please go east, Marquis Xiping."
The right time, right place, and right people! Mu Chun was overjoyed and rode his horse to the west.
At the sound of a drum, the Mu father and son rode their horses and galloped towards the target position in the middle of the training ground. The confrontation between father and son officially began.
The dazzling autumn sunset did affect Mu Ying's normal performance. He squinted his eyes. Mu Chun rode his horse first and shot an arrow with his bow.
The first shot hit the target.
The people of Yingyang Guard began to cheer: Although they hated their superior Mu Chun to the core in the military camp and wanted to beat him to death, outside, if Mu Chun lost, the entire Yingyang Guard would lose face. Therefore, for the sake of face, they still hoped that the shameless Mu Chun would win.
Encouraged by his subordinates, Mu Chun quickly pulled out the second arrow from the quiver behind him, and kept the same rhythm of rising and falling of his upper body and hips/lower horse, aiming at the second target.
The second shot hit the target.
The Yingyang Guards cheered again.
Mu Chun was beaming with joy, looking quite proud.
When Mu Ying heard the cheers, he didn't even frown. He directly pulled out three arrows from the quiver, put them on the string, and shot all three arrows at once!
One, two, three, shoot at three targets respectively, and hit them all!
"Great!" The soldiers cheered and applauded Mu Ying.
Only Duke Ying Feng Cheng remained unmoved, thinking to himself, "You little brat Mu Chun, why don't you think of a way to defeat Mu Ying."
At this time, Mu Chun gritted his teeth, pulled out three arrows from the quiver, put them on the bowstring together, and shot three arrows at the same time.
The third and fourth targets were hit, but the fifth one missed the bull's eye, so it was considered a miss.
After all, Mu Chun was only seventeen years old and had just finished his first expedition to Guaishiling, Jiangxi. His archery skills were not as good as his father's, who was experienced and extremely talented.
Mu Ying smiled contemptuously and shot three arrows again. The red hearts of the six targets were all his arrows.
Mu Ying turned defeat into victory, and eventually gained the upper hand, leading by three arrows.
The people of Yingyang Guard looked at each other in bewilderment: It's over, Lord Mu is going to lose.
At this moment, the war horses of the father and son happened to cross in the middle of the shooting range, and the two men passed each other. Mu Chun saw his father's contemptuous and mocking eyes, and he was immediately furious. What should he do
In this situation, how can we turn defeat into victory
At this time, the sound of breaking air rose again behind him. Mu Ying fired three arrows again. He only pulled the bow three times and completed the game perfectly, hitting the target with all nine shots.
But Mu Chun had already missed the target once, so even if all the remaining four arrows hit the target, it would still be a failure.
What to do? What to do? Got it!
Mu Chun suddenly had an idea and thought of a way to win.
Next, it was time to witness a miracle, which all the civil and military officials present would never forget:
Mu Chun pulled out an arrow from the quiver and put it on the string. However, his target was not the target, but the arrow shot by his father at the red heart of the target!
The arrow flew out with two consecutive bangs, and this arrow knocked down two of the arrows that my father had shot at the target...
He bent the bow and shot the arrow again. With two "thuds", this arrow also "died together with" his father's two arrows.
So, Mu Ying only had five arrows left, and Mu Chun hit four of them. The key point was that there were still two arrows in Mu Chun's quiver that had not been shot out!
Now, it was Mu Ying's turn to feel that the game was not over yet, but the outcome was already determined.
If Mu Chun continued to use this method, then at the end of the game, Mu Ying would have only one arrow left on the target, while Mu Chun would have four, completely defeating his father.
At the grand review, all the civil and military officials were shocked by Mu Chun's cunning (shamelessness), except his uncle Feng Cheng, who smiled happily, thinking for the first time that his nephew looked so pleasing to the eye.
The people of Yingyang Guard were used to it: Is it strange? We have seen Lord Mu's more ruthless and shameless side.
However, Mu Chun gave his father some face in the end, and the remaining two arrows both hit the bull's eye, without shooting down his father's arrow.
The judge, Minister of War Wu Lin, counted the arrows on the target and made a verdict: "Marquis Xiping hit the target with five arrows, and Mu Qianshi hit the target with six arrows. Therefore, Mu Qianshi won by a narrow margin."
The atmosphere on the field was somewhat awkward.
"Good!" Feng Cheng, the Duke of Ying, was the first to stand up and applaud. "It is true that heroes have always emerged from youth. If my father knew about this in the afterlife, he would be very happy."
When Feng Cheng mentioned his biological father, everyone gave him face and applauded.
Mu Chun dismounted and said to Mu Ying: "Dad, I am sorry to have made you laugh at my son's petty tricks."
Mu Ying gnashed his teeth in anger, but he still had to keep a fatherly smile on his face, "You have really improved. Your father is very pleased."
Emperor Hongwu said with a smile: "A tiger father will have a dog son. Both you and your son are talented pillars of the Ming Dynasty. You will be rewarded handsomely."
The Frost Descent Parade in the 13th year of Hongwu ended with the gimmick of the Mu family father and son competing for glory, which added a lot of topics for the wealthy families in Beijing. The love and hate between the Mu family and the Feng family is much more interesting than a play.
At the end of the show, Duke of Wei Xu Da stopped Mu Chun and said, "Your grandfather has been kind to me, and I have been thinking about repaying him. I used to think you were young and erratic, and I thought you were just an ignorant child. However, you did a good job in suppressing bandits and quelling riots in Guaishiling. In today's military parade, I saw that you trained the scattered Eagle Guards to advance and retreat in an orderly manner. Your match with your father also showed that you are a brave and resourceful person, not the devil that people say you are. Let me ask you, do you want to go to the northwest border to guard the border and see a real battlefield?"
Mu Chun was ecstatic and said loudly: "I want to!"
Everyone knows that the Ming Dynasty's fourth northern expedition will begin sooner or later. This is a great opportunity to make a name for itself.
Xu Da patted his shoulder and said, "Good boy, tomorrow you will be responsible for escorting a batch of military cotton clothes to the western border. By the way, you will be stationed there for a winter to adapt to the local climate and war conditions. When the time comes for the Northern Expedition, I will take you on the journey and defeat the Northern Yuan Dynasty."
The next day, Mu Chun led his troops to the border to deliver supplies. He immediately opened a Bingchuan golden fan, on which was the crab poem Hu Shanwei had given him, "On July 20, I ate crabs and drank chrysanthemum wine with Jingchun in a Hangzhou restaurant":
"The Gutless Young Master should be very charming, wearing a helmet and dancing with a spear and Yumen flute. He fought for 8,000 miles outside the Great Wall, and when he saw the cooking, he took off his armor and visited the chrysanthemums."
Sister Shanwei is truly an expert on things. She predicted that I would go to the northwest to fight.
"Hey, everyone, hurry up! It's about to snow heavily in the northwest! The soldiers will suffer from the cold!" Mu Chun urged the team, thinking that if I move fast enough, I can still reunite with Sister Shanwei in Xi'an!
The author has something to say: The real grand review and sacrificial flag ceremony are much more complicated than what I wrote. Because this is a novel, it is impossible to write it in such detail. If you are interested, you can go to my Weibo to read Mulanzhou
100 red envelopes will be given out tonight, and there will be a 100-point high school history quiz red envelope with prizes. The rules are the same as before.
Please listen to the question:
During the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, the minister Wu Lin first served as a doctor of the Imperial Academy, then became the Minister of War, and later became the Minister of Personnel. He was a rare minister in the Hongwu reign who was not liquidated. After Wu Lin retired, he returned to his hometown of Huanggang, Hubei. In his later years, Zhu Yuanzhang was suspicious and sent spies to secretly observe him. He sneaked into the side house and saw a farmer sitting on a small stool, pulling up rice seedlings and planting the fields. He looked very dignified. The messenger said, "Is this the Minister Wu?" The farmer put his hands down and replied, "It's Lin." The messenger reported to Zhu Yuanzhang: Wu Lin, a farmer without an official appearance. The emperor was impressed. Wu Lin saved his life.
So the question is, which spy agency is the spy secretly observing G from
a Jinyiwei, b Dongchang, c Xichang, d Junqingliuchu