Liu Futong. If this name had been placed eight or nine years ago, almost no one would have known this name except for the local people in Yingshang.

But now, there are few people in this big world who don't know this name.

In today's parlance of the Yuan and Mongolian courts. This thief is the actual leader of the puppet Song Longfeng regime, the prime minister of the Longfeng court, and the real leader of the Central Plains Righteous Army. Even the puppet Chu king Zhang Thief Shihua, who occupied the land of Huguang, was nominally under his leadership.

Therefore, compared with the Tianwan regime in its heyday, Liu Futong's threat to the Yuanmeng court is undoubtedly more terrifying.

And since he can be regarded as his number one enemy by the Yuanmeng court, Liu Futong naturally has his own advantages.

For example, in terms of fighting against the Yuan and Mongolian courts, Liu Futong also has his own strategic ideas.

In the future, after this strategic concept was put into practice by Liu Futong, it became known to the world as the Northern Expedition of the Red Turban Army.

In the original history, in order to achieve the strategic goal of destroying Yuan and Mongolia in one fell swoop, and to complete the political ambitions set that year. As the leader of the Northern Righteous Army, Liu Futong couldn't help but divide his most elite main force into three parts in the seventeenth year of Zhizheng.

And the most elite three-part army is also divided into eastern, central, and western routes according to the different offensive routes.

Among them, the army of the West Road was Li Wu, Cui De, and later supported Li Wu and Cui De, Bai Buxin, Dadao Ao, etc., who were the first troops to be sent out by Liu Futong. Of course, in the original history, this army would also be the first to be defeated by the Yuan and Mongolian courts.

Of course, with the rout of the Western Route Army. After the Yuanmeng court was able to quickly withdraw its hand in western Shaanxi. The mighty Eastern Route Army and the Middle Route Army were also defeated immediately after the original history.

Although these two powerful troops, the Eastern Route Army fought all the way to Cangzhou and Liulin, which were less than 100 miles away from Yuandadu; The Middle Route Army even broke the northern capital of the Yuan and Mongolian courts in one fell swoop, so that the Yuan Emperor never traveled north.

But this obviously does not change the fate of their failure.

After all, in terms of the national strength of the Yuanmeng Empire at that time, Liu Futong's beheading tactics with a strong adventurous spirit had no chance of success at all.

However, this huge Northern Expedition still succeeded in draining the last bit of savings of the Yuanmeng court.

Otherwise, when Zhu Yuanzhang pacified Jiangnan in the future, it would be impossible to recover the entire north so easily.

But then again, all of this is after all the evaluation and conclusion we have drawn from the perspective of later generations.

If we put it in a certain era, we don't know what happened later, let us look at this incident from the perspective of Liu Futong, the leader of the Northern Rebel Army in the spring and March of the seventeenth year. It is not at all surprising to come to a conclusion that is completely contrary to this.

At that time, on the bright side, Liu Futong's advantage was really too big.

In the spring of the seventeenth year of the year, in March, to the west. Li Wu and Cui De, who had received support, achieved an almost blossoming victory on the side of Shaanxi Xixing Province. So much so that Chakhan Timur, who came to Shaanxi, had to temporarily avoid the edge in the face of Li Wu and Cui De's victorious army when he was not fully prepared.

East. As a rising star of the Red Turban Army, Mao Gui also set out from Huaidong, took the sea route, successfully captured Laizhou, and killed Shi Jiane, the deputy envoy of Dongxuan, who was guarding Laizhou. And in the next half month, with a tough attitude, it captured Yidu Road, Binzhou and other places in a row. The entire mountain [] East Propaganda Division has become a territory in his own hands.

So much so that in order to resist Mao Gui, the Yuanmeng court had to transfer Dong Junxiao, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council of Jianghuai, who guarded the land of Jianghuai, to the east of the mountain as a consolation envoy, in order to resist Mao Guina's increasingly sharp offensive.

Even in Jiangnan, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was loyal to him, successfully captured Changzhou Road in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and achieved a series of victories.

Although before, Zhu Yuanzhang's titular prefect, Marshal Guo Tianyou (the son of Zhu Yuanzhang's cheap father-in-law Guo Zixing, Zhu Yuanzhang's brother-in-law) and Marshal Zhang Tianyou, the right capital, both died somewhat unclear.

But Liu Futong is just a person who only looks at the results. So he didn't care what means Zhu Yuanzhang used in this process.

Therefore, if it is calculated in this way, even if the Huguang land occupied by Zhang Shihua is removed, Liu Futong still develops his power to Shaanxi, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and others.

Therefore, in such a comparison, the power that Liu Futong has is really not much weaker than that of the Yuanmeng court.

Of course, in order to resist the increasingly fierce uprising in the world, the Yuanmeng court also made a lot of efforts.

For example, in the spring and March, the Yuanmeng Center promoted Badulu again, and added the title of Tai Lieutenant to him, so that he was truly a person who was a supreme minister. and entrusted all the soldiers and horses south of the Yellow River to him.

It is hoped that this person who has won many victories against Liu Futong can create a myth again.

After all, just four months ago, he and Liu Futong won again. In that battle, Badulu successfully recovered Taikang City, which was reoccupied by Liu Futong. He also captured nine generals at the level of thousands of households under Liu Futong's account, including Zhang Min and Sun Han.

In which battle, he successfully killed the veteran of the Red Turban Army-Luo Wensu.

Therefore, for the loss of Badulu, the Yuanmeng court really repaid great hopes.

And in addition to the promotion of the canonization of the loss of Badulu. On the side of Jiang [] Xixing Province, in order to boost morale and strengthen the determination of the right side of the province that was overwhelmed by Ni Wenjun, the Yuanmeng Imperial Court couldn't help but canonize Huo Youchi as the Duke of Yingguo.

In addition, the Yuan and Mongolian centers also passed the proposal to supervise the imperial history of the fifty-nine (yes, the name of the superintendent of the imperial history recorded in the Yuan history is called the fifty-nine), and the large-scale selection of new soldiers around the capital. In order to strengthen the direct military equipment of the Yuan and Mongolian courts.

Of course, in terms of the bureaucracy that has rotted to the point that the Yuan and Mongolian courts are now rotting. They do this just to find comfort for themselves.

So when Da Chu's intelligence department "Secret Guard" sent such news, Zhang Shihua didn't even look at it.

In this busy farming season, Zhang Shihua just dispatched the Wu'an Army, which was guarding the Xuanwei Division of South Huzhou Road, a full 15,000 soldiers, to Xiazhou Road, waiting for the end of the farming season, and then sending troops.

……

In the seventeenth year of Zheng, summer, the first day of the fourth month.

"Father, I'm full, can I play with my cousin and them now?" In a flash, Zhang Shihua's eldest son Zhang Xi was also four years old at this time.

Of course, because people in this era start counting their age from the time of their mother's womb. So in the words of Queen Guo Weier, her son is already five years old.

However, whether he is four or five years old, His Royal Highness, the prince of Da Chu, is still just a child less than four feet (more than one meter).

I don't have the mindset of an adult, and now all I think about is playing with my peers.

No, early in the morning, after His Royal Highness the Prince hastily pulled a few mouthfuls of food into his mouth, a pair of big watery eyes couldn't help but look at his father who made him quite awe-inspired. In the hope that this father, who has become more and more strict as he grows older, will be able to accede to his small request.

"Finish the food that your mother has served you, and do not waste it." In this regard, Zhang Shihua, who wanted to train his son to be a qualified successor, did not directly agree to his son's request. Instead, he looked at his son and said with a slightly serious face.

"Oh, the boy sees." Although his mother and father are not born into a large family. But as His Royal Highness the Prince of Great Chu, Zhang Xi naturally received the orthodox upper-class education of this era since he was a little sensible.

Under the influence of the monarch as the minister and the father as the son, in the face of his father's words, Xiao Zhang Xi will not make a foolish move to the children of later generations.

So even though I wanted to go out and play, I still obediently ate the food in the bowl.

"Let's go, let's play." When he saw his son gobble up the food in the bowl and look at him with expectant eyes. As a father, Zhang Shihua couldn't help but nod and granted the child's small request.

However, when he saw his son happily preparing to run out, he couldn't help but instruct again: "Xi'er, you and Yu'er don't mess around outside, and don't go to dangerous places, understand?" ”

"Don't worry, father." Our Royal Highness the little prince agreed as he ran.

"This kid. Brother Hua, maybe we should find a teacher for Xi'er. "When I saw my son, I still looked frizzy. The queen mother, who wanted her son to be a hero like his father, that is, his father-in-law, couldn't help but have such thoughts.

"Teacher?" Suddenly, hearing his wife say this, Zhang Shihua, as a father, couldn't help frowning.

To tell the truth, although he wants his son to become a qualified successor, he doesn't want him to become the kind of gentleman who has not tasted sorrow, worry, labor, fear, or danger.

But he didn't want his son to receive a Confucian education so early.

After all, his son is too young. Such a young child is a complete blank slate. If Zhang Shihua had let his group of Confucian scholars teach, this group of Confucian students would 100% have mixed their teachings with private goods, so as to train their son to become a so-called "holy king" in their minds.

So he thought that before his son was six years old, it would be better for him, his wife, or his father to teach him first.

Then after gradually understanding some basic truths, he entered the academy with his playmates of the same age.

Of course, even at that time, Zhang Shihua would never follow his wife's idea and completely hand over his son to those Confucian scholars with profound knowledge and noble moral character to teach.

Although the great Confucians that his wife found for his son, there is no stain on his personal character.

But Zhang Shihua didn't want his son to be taught by those Confucian scholars with noble character to become Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest grandson, a waste like Zhu Yunwen, Emperor Xiaowen.

So at this point, he couldn't help frowning lightly and said, "Wei'er, Xi'er is only five years old now." It's just a child, and it's too early to hire a teacher for him. ”

"Brother Hua, Xi'er, he's five years old, it's still early! It's not that you don't know that the third son of Li Sinong (Li Chongshan)'s family is half a month younger than our family's Xi'er. But they were already able to recite most of the Analects. ”

"Li Chongshan, the third child of his family, Wei'er, you still say. The kid was only a little older, just three feet tall, and he was taught by Li Chongshan like a little Taoist. He only knows the endorsement every day, and the aura on the child's body is about to wear him out.

Besides, your nephew, Guo Yu's little guy, is one year older than our Xi'er, isn't he still not enrolled in school. So, Wei'er, what are you looking for? ”

"But ......" Guo Weier, who was bent on wanting her son to become a Chan, opened her mouth and couldn't help but want to say something more.

But at this time, Zhang Shihua couldn't help but be a little impatient. Therefore, without waiting for his wife to open her mouth, he did not wave his hand and said, "Okay, Wei'er." Xi'er, he is the son of my Da Chu and the future heir of my Zhang Shihua. Regarding Xi'er's teachings, do you think I, a father, will not care?

Now, let's let Xi'er play with his peers for another year. Wait until next year, and I will arrange for Xi'er and him to go to school. ”

"Well, okay." Seeing that her husband said so, Guo Weier, as his wife, naturally didn't say anything more. So no matter what we thought in our hearts, our queen mother still nodded.

Seeing this, Zhang Shihua smiled and gave his wife and his youngest daughter Zhang Qi sleeping in the house a kiss goodbye as usual, and then couldn't help but turn around and leave under the sweet gaze of his wife, and went to deal with official business.

"Zizhu, come. Dress up for me, let's wait where the Yuzhen lady is. Watching Zhang Shihua leave his field of vision, Guo Weier, who was smiling, couldn't help but give an order to the big girl beside her.

"Yes." In this regard, Zizhu, the big girl standing on the side, hurriedly agreed, but did not ask anything.

Because she understands that her queen mother is to visit the pregnant Yuzhen lady as usual.

Thinking of it, the big girl couldn't help but sigh secretly in her heart: her own mother really thinks that she has the means to understand the king's mind thoroughly. No wonder after so many years, he is still so affectionate with the king.

So much so that in such a situation, this big girl couldn't even help but feel pity for Princess Lou Yuzhen Lou.

After all, as people often say, 'How long can Israel serve the king?' ’。