Chinese New Year has always been very important to the world, and people hope that the family can be reunited during this festive season.

Zhu Gaoxu remembered the scene of later generations, when the Chinese New Year came, countless people rushed home thousands of miles away, and all roads were congested; Nothing seems to have changed throughout the ages.

However, on Chinese New Year's Eve, Zhu Gaoxu led more than 60,000 land division forwards and all the ships of the naval division, and went the opposite way, leaving his family and relatives to embark on the journey! On such days, Zhu Gaoxu was somewhat reluctant; But in contrast, he chose the tangible benefits. Maybe a day earlier, the situation would be better for him.

Zhu Gaoxu stood on the stern wooden tower of a big warship, looking at the countless warships on the river, and looking at the grand scene on the water, he seemed to have all kinds of feelings for a while.

It was cloudy and rainy, the northwest wind was blowing in the air, and the big banner with the words "Fight for Crime and Rebellion" "crackled" and danced on the warship. Because of the wind direction for a while, almost none of the hundreds of warships of the Navy Division raised their sails; Otherwise, the sight will be even more spectacular!

The Xiangjiang River flows north into the Great River, and the fleet sails against the wind in this section of the Xiangjiang River; But as soon as you enter the river, you can raise the sails and speed up the voyage.

However, the entire waterway route of the vanguard of the Han Wangjun is downstream on the Xiangjiang River and the Great River. The warship can travel day and night, and Zhu Gaoxu and others estimate that they will be able to reach the Zhili area in more than ten days at most!

The Ming Dynasty took Nanjing as its capital and was located in the lower reaches of the Great River. The river is a double-edged sword, both as a barrier and as the most convenient passage for the enemy. As long as the army that threatens the Jingshi occupies the middle and upper reaches of the Great River and gains water superiority, the danger of the Jingshi will expand indefinitely!

After the Battle of Huguang, the Han army was still far away from Beijing, two or three thousand miles away; At this point, it seemed like it was close at hand. After all, if the army marched by land, it would not even be able to go out of the territory of a political envoy for more than ten days, let alone a war.

……

On Chinese New Year's Eve, it is snowing in Datong Province. The heavens and the earth were white, as if everything was covered in snow.

In recent months, there have been constant border troubles, and there have been cases of grassland tribes plundering border lands from time to time. According to the system established during the Hongwu period, the generals of each side will have closer contacts with the acting king who guards the Datong Mansion.

Acting King Zhu Gui is in his thirties and is in the prime of life. As of yesterday, he has received secret letters from the King of Qin in Guanzhong and the King of Jin in Taiyuan Mansion; After the king of Gu was arrested in the Beijing division, the two kings were willing to obey the emperor's uncle Zhu Gui as the main and make an alliance to raise troops!

Among them, Zhu Jixi, the king of Jin, was the most active, and he had already begun to persuade Zhu Gui to get into trouble. Because the King of Jin had been impeached by his own palace many times, and secretly accused him of being dissatisfied with the Yan Dynasty, the King of Jin was very worried about the loss of the throne.

In recent days, Zhu Gui has received a New Year's gift list from the imperial court, including the rich reward from the saint. Zhu Gui is even more hesitant now than he was a few months ago.

He secretly summoned his confidants and advisers to ask: "The king of Gu was arrested in Changsha Mansion, according to your speculation, will the matter of the king's conspiracy have been revealed?" ”

The advisor immediately replied: "I think it is very possible, but the kings have been plotting for too long, and there is a rumor in the south!" ”

Zhu Gui was silent after hearing this, and lowered his head and thought hard about it.

Seeing this, the strategist talked eloquently: "In the current situation, there are countless officials and soldiers, and the power of the imperial court is declining, so it should be unable to look north; Today, he has been given a great reward, and he thinks that this is also the reason.

If the prince raises troops at this time, it should be easier! After raising troops to occupy Datong Mansion, the prince may still be able to get some support from the border army, and quickly expand his power outward, so as not to fall into the situation of being trapped in one place.

And the humble position has always believed that since the early years of Jianwen, the monarchs and ministers of the imperial court have changed their national policy and are no longer willing to guard the important places of the vassal kings! And such changes are irreversible. No matter who becomes the emperor, the court and the courtiers will definitely find ways to cut down the feudal domain.

Jianwen cut the feudal domain drastically, and died and the country was destroyed. At the beginning of Emperor Taizong's army, he opposed the reduction of the feudal domain and replaced it with an armed attack; However, Taizong ascended the throne and became the emperor, and immediately changed his hexagram and began to cut the domain! It's just that in order to avoid the mistakes of Emperor Jianwen, Emperor Taizong's methods are much more secretive. He wanted to cut the military power of the vassal king first, and then divide and rule, and break each one.

At the beginning, the prince conspired with the kings, and the kings had to compete for the title of primary and secondary, precisely because of such long-term concerns. The kings must have thought that even if the army succeeded, the new emperor would still deal with them. ”

Zhu Gui agreed with the strategist's statement, and then nodded slightly. He also felt that cutting the feudal domain was the trend of the times, and the kings would be finished sooner or later!

But he did not dare to fully follow the advice of his subordinates. The civil and military forces who participated in the plot to raise troops in the palace all persuaded Zhu Gui to start the army as soon as possible; Those people also know in their hearts that once the matter is revealed, sooner or later it will be exposed, and they will all die! Most people only think about themselves, how many people really think about the prince?

The strategist continued: "When it is difficult for the imperial court to deal with the north, the kings will join forces to conquer the city as soon as possible, and it is not impossible to occupy all the territory of Jiangbei in the future......

Zhu Gui interrupted the strategist's words, and suddenly said: "At the moment, our great enemy is not the imperial court, but the king of Han. ”

The strategist was stunned for a moment.

Zhu Gui glanced at him and said quietly: "In the battle of Huguang, it is said that the King of Han defeated the elite of the official army of 700,000 in only half an hour. ”

The advisor was speechless for a moment, and of course he had heard such news.

Zhu Gui said in a deep voice: "Isn't it terrible to have such a record?" He sighed and said, "Judging from the affairs of the King of Shu and the King of Jingjiang, the King of Han may at least leave us a way to live and leave some wealth?" ”

Zhu Gui said that, he got up and walked over, opened the door, and he looked at the snow scene outside, looking thoughtful.

Doing something important usually takes a long time, and people inevitably think about it again and again every day. What are the pros and cons and what the opportunities are, as long as you are clear-headed, most of you can roughly figure it out.

……

Zhu Gaosui, the king of Zhao, who is also in the north, has also been on pins and needles recently.

The eunuch Huang Yan would secretly lobby King Zhao as soon as he had the opportunity, and strongly persuaded King Zhao to deploy troops as soon as possible!

Huang Yan is well aware of his situation. He was involved in rebellion, and Yang Qing, the eunuch who was placed in the palace, was finished, but those things must not be so good; The court didn't move him for a while, it was entirely for King Zhao's sake.

At this time, the court should not want to see something happen elsewhere; Therefore, the emperor sent people to Beiping City several times, both as a reward and as a reassurance, the purpose of course was to stabilize King Zhao! And Huang Yan is the most trusted eunuch around King Zhao, of course he can't be moved easily.

But what about after the war?

The current situation is gradually becoming clear, and King Han is very likely to win! Huang Yan doesn't have to worry about being liquidated by the imperial court on suspicion of rebellion, what he is worried about is the eunuchs in the palace who have a life-and-death grudge! Although Zheng He is dead, his henchmen are still there.

Huang Yan thought about it and felt that he was living on the side of the Han Palace.

The king of Han once sent his henchman eunuch Cao Fu to persuade the king of Zhao to raise troops, and as long as Huang Yan promoted this matter, it would be a great achievement in front of the king of Han; At the same time, Huang Yan can also take advantage of the situation to deepen his friendship with the eunuch Cao Fu. In this way, he can not only save his life, but also maybe use the people of the Han Wangfu to kill all the remaining henchmen of Zheng He, so as to prevent future troubles!

Huang Yan was wearing a fur coat, and while thinking about things, he had already walked outside the door of a side hall. He craned his neck and waited with his hands folded in his sleeves.

After a long time, Changshi Gu Sheng came out of it. Huang Yan hugged the dust and greeted him, and Gu Sheng also politely replied: "Huang Gong, please, it's been cold recently." ”

"Isn't it?" Huang Yan said kindly, "Gu Changshi walks slowly. ”

Huang Yan lifted the thick cloth curtain hanging at the door and walked into the side hall. Smokeless charcoal is burning inside, and it's very warm. He took off his fur coat first, and stepped forward to salute King Zhao with his clothes.

King Zhao nodded and did not even look at Huang Yan. He seemed to be pondering something.

Huang Yan stood on the side and was silent for a while.

After waiting for a long time, Zhu Gaosui turned his head to look at Huang Yan. Although Huang Yan had been very knowledgeable and silent just now, he was paying attention to the prince's every move; At this time, he immediately stepped forward and bowed down and said, "Lord Wang, the slave and maid still have to persuade you, the time to start an army is too good now!" After the battle of Huguang, the slave maid heard that the official document of the Beijing division was not very useful in Beiping. As long as you raise troops and play the banner of the King of Han, Beiping's civil and military forces will echo ......"

Zhu Gaosui frowned and said: "I am already a prince, what is the benefit of raising troops under the banner of the second brother?" ”

Huang Yan said in a deep voice: "When King Han ascends the throne in the future, he will be closer to and trust the prince. ”

Zhu Gaosui made a strange expression with an indifferent expression.

Huang Yan continued: "Now that the general trend has been decided, it is becoming easier and easier for the prince to raise troops, even if something goes wrong, the emperor will not do anything to his brother; When the King of Han enters Beijing, he will soon be able to rescue the prince and praise you greatly. That's a great deal to deliver to your door......"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Gaosui shook his head and said, "My second brother is not as simple as you think!" He is so capable of fighting, people rumored in private that the second brother defeated the main force of the official army in half an hour! How can I help him by raising troops? ”

Zhu Gaosui paused and whispered: "Raising troops can only make my second brother feel that I am quite bold!" ”

Huang Yan was stunned, and said with a blank expression: "No matter whether the prince can help or not, but once you raise an army, your heart will be towards the side of the King of Han." ”

Zhu Gaosui sneered: "Originally, they were brothers; My eldest brother is still suspicious of me, didn't you just say that you couldn't move my life? If I don't do anything, my second brother will think that I have neither courage nor ability, and he will not need to be too wary of me in the future. ”

When Huang Yan heard this, he was speechless, and he couldn't think of words that could persuade King Zhao.

Zhu Gaosui said quietly: "Royal brothers, does it matter if you have that heart?" Our father is the emperor, who dares to say that he has never had the heart (to inherit the throne)? Whether you have the strength and ability is the most important mile. ”