Chapter 34: The End of the Year (I)

No matter how many doubts Zhu Chongjiu himself had about the success of the Northern Expedition, it was a sure thing that the Huai'an Army would use troops in Dadu after the weather warmed up. It occupies the southern half of the Grand Canal, which is the most convenient way to transport people and baggage, and the current control area is closely connected with the Mengyuan Zhongshu Province, if the opportunity to send the Timurid father and son to the door is not grasped, the "expulsion of the Tartars" advocated by the Huai'an Army over the years has become an empty talk. Not only will they suffer a complete rout in the struggle for the right to speak with the corrupt Confucians, but the officers and men of the whole army, especially those middle and lower-level officers who have followed Zhu Chongjiu since Xuzhou, will also lose their direction in life in an instant.

In addition, Meng Yuan's side will not be chaotic forever. According to the secret report sent back by the military intelligence department in Dadu and Yangqu, at the same time that the main force of the Huai'an army ended its crusade against Quanzhou and began to return north, some people of insight on the side of Mengyuan also stood up one after another, exhorting Tuhuan Timur and his son to give up cannibalism and jointly defend the ancestral foundation.

Their efforts were quite fruitful, first of all, they were impressed by the hardcore supporters on whom Aiyu Zhilitra depended, the Pingzhang Governor Chakhan Timur, so that he took the initiative to withdraw a group of troops and horses to the west of Feihuling, temporarily giving up the threat to Dadu Road. And Li Siqi, the newly sealed privy council of Tuhuan Timur, did not want to put the old book and Chakhan Timur together, so he took the initiative to close the book from Bauhinia to Tuhuan Timur, persuading him to give up the pursuit of Empress Qi and the crown prince, and the father and son and husband and wife reconciled. [1] Natuhuan Timur originally planned to pass on the throne to the crown prince after his death. I can't let go of the love between husband and wife who have been suffering with Queen Qi for many years. Most of the previous reactions have been nothing more than being forced to protect themselves. At this moment, after receiving Li Siqi's recital, he suddenly felt that he had already gone down the stairs, and his murderous aura quickly turned into finger tenderness. After a little deliberation, he simply issued an edict to Aiyou Zhilitra, announcing that the previous events between father and son were just misunderstandings provoked by traitors. As long as the prince is willing to escort Queen Qi back to Dadu, the father and son can release their previous suspicions. And he is willing to follow the old example of Tang Gaozu and Qin King Li Shimin, and the prince will be ordered to supervise the country, and he will live in the palace by himself, and he will live for a long time.

This step is indeed big enough to make the prince love and know Rita without being moved. However, another of his confidants, the eunuch, insisted that Timur's move was just a habitual ploy. When he dealt with Boyan, Totoku and others, he also gave enough benefits to make the other party careless. And then suddenly kill someone. Now the same trick is used on his own son's head, and he will definitely not be soft in the end. Otherwise, the premise would not have been set in advance, and the premise would not have been set to ask Aiyu Zhilitra to escort Empress Qi back to Dadu, instead of handing over all power now. Once Aiyou knew that Litra's mother and son were fooled and entered the sphere of influence of the forbidden army and Li Siqi of the current dynasty, the result would be a tragic ending of ambushing soldiers in all directions and being captured as a prisoner in the blink of an eye.

Unable to believe that his father, who was so mediocre, had such a cunning side, he had to ask his mother, Queen Qi, for advice. And Queen Qi has completely messed up at this moment. wiped his eyes and sobbed for a while, before he responded sadly, "As the saying goes, the most ruthless emperor is the family." What's more, it's our mother and son who are sorry for your father first. Whatever he does, there is enough reason for that. How can you guess which step you will do?! ”

When Aiyu Zhilitra heard this, the excitement in his heart immediately cooled. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that my father had really made it too easy to back down. After thinking about it repeatedly, he simply stayed on Jining Road under the banner of containing Aluhui Timur for his father, and in the name of the prince of the prison state, sent officials and troops to Yunzhong and Datong, and put on a posture of preparing to divide the west of Taihang Mountain for a long time and fight against his father.

In this way, the reconciliation between father and son is as good as before in a short period of time, and there is no hope for conspicuousness. However, the civil war between the two sides quickly ended with the running of a group of well-intentioned people. Zhongshu Province is divided into two along the Taihang Mountain and its northward remaining veins, the west side is all owned by the prince Aiyu Zhilitra, and the east side is still temporarily owned by Tuhuan Timur, the Great Yuan Emperor. The Mengyuan civil and military forces of the two major provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu also gave up the attack on Jining for the time being, and concentrated all their forces to prepare for the challenge from the Bianliang Red Turban after the beginning of spring.

The chaos and strife within Mengyuan have come to an end for the time being, which is certainly not good news for Huaiyang. Therefore, after receiving the information sent back by Xizuo Adventure, the Huaiyang Governor's Mansion worked harder and harder to speed up the preparations for the Northern Expedition. No one dares to guarantee that Timur, who has now cultivated the secret method of acting as a butterfly, will one day completely decide to give up the red world and devote himself to seeking the road to immortality. In that case, the various forces of the Mengyuan Dynasty would be reunited as one because of the decisive abdication of Tuhuan Timur. The risks and challenges faced by the Huai'an Army on the Northern Expedition will inevitably increase exponentially.

Time is running out, and the more it drags on, the more unfavorable it will be to the Huai'an army. Although everyone knows that there is no way to fight in the ice and snow of the north. No matter how anxious you are, the time of the expedition must be set after the beginning of spring. But for a whole winter, the governor's office and its subordinate yamen at all levels spun at high speed like a waterwheel during the flood season. Weapons, ammunition, military rations, armor, and all kinds of medicinal materials that were ground into powder, kneaded into pills, and packed into small packets were transported to Xuzhou along the canals and roads, in cars and ships.

Jiangwutang and Huaxia University also did not stop fireworks all winter. In the temporarily vacated classrooms, the young officials grabbed handouts and chalk and unreservedly introduced their experience in governing the local areas to the newly recruited staff of the Grand Governor's Office, hoping that they would be able to master the basic essentials of official affairs in a short period of time and turn the various places recovered during the Northern Expedition into stable territory under the rule of the Grand Governor's Office as quickly as possible.

And in the big school fields in the suburbs of several major cities, the sound of people shouting and neighing horses is endless. It is not necessary to win a war with a large number of people, and ten well-trained elite soldiers, working together, can drive a hundred villagers away from ducks. With the increase of combat experience and the cramming training in the martial arts hall, the policy of elite troops advocated by Zhu Chongjiu has now penetrated into the bones of the entire Huai'an army. Whether it is the first, third, fourth, and seventh army corps that will rush to the battlefield after the beginning of spring, or the fifth army corps that was ordered to stay in the rear, they all seize the last time to carry out a new round of polishing of the new recruits and veterans under their command. Even the auxiliary units, which had just undergone a round of selection, braved the biting humidity and cold to continue running and exercising, striving to improve the physical indicators of the soldiers. There is still more than half a month before the end of the year, and there are more than 20 days before the beginning of spring. If someone performs well and makes rapid progress during this time, there is still hope that they will be selected into the ranks of the soldiers. It no longer meant not only fifteen acres of land and two acres of land for each level of merit, but also meant that they would say goodbye to their old lives forever. Change the court, and even one day like Liu Ziyun, Zhu Qiang, Xu Da and others, glorify their ancestors!

Liu Ziyun, the deputy commander of the First Army Corps and the deputy privy envoy, was just a wild prisoner who relied on extortion and extortion to eat before joining the army. Zhu Qiang, the commander of the Huaiyang Naval Division, was only the helmsman in the boat gang back then. And the commander of the Third Army made Xu Da's background even worse, he was actually a homeless who didn't even know a single big character and didn't eat the next meal. Similarly, there are Wu Xuyu, the commander of the Fourth Army, Wang Bi, the deputy commander of the Third Army, Huang Zheng, the director of the Industrial Bureau, and others. And after they follow the general manager, they can become cadres with heavy troops and heavy responsibilities. According to the current situation, it is necessary to have a name mark in the near future, which will be admired by all generations. With such a rapidly rising life trajectory, how can other children of grass folk families regard them as life models?

Joining the army, following General Manager Zhu to the Northern Expedition, keeping General Manager Zhu as the emperor, and then getting an official position when rewarding meritorious deeds, in this winter, it has almost become the ultimate dream of many ordinary young people. In order to realize their dreams, they can even die, so why are they afraid of the wet and cold weather, and one or two failed selections?

"Chang Xianyun, out of the ranks. Lead all your brothers to a low wall 100 feet in front of you, and jump back and forth five times with your weapons! Looking at the fiery eyes of the teenagers, Zhou Chang, the head of the auxiliary group, seemed to see himself back then, waved his prosthetic hand made of wood, and commanded loudly.

"Yes!" Chang Xiaoer, who was temporarily appointed as the head of the auxiliary army, shouted and rushed to the front of his team, raised a fake musket made of wood with one hand, and shouted, "Brothers, follow me." There is still a round of selection on the twenty-seventh day of the lunar month, whether it can pass or not, it depends on the next few days! ”

With that, he slammed his waist, and the whole person rushed out like lightning. A slightly fat buttocks that rise and fall with the movement of their legs.

"Hey, hey," a low laugh rang out behind him. But soon, the laughter was drowned out by the sound of hurried footsteps. The teenagers of the first regiment, the first battalion, the three companies and three capitals followed Chang Xiaoer one by one, like a group of leopards who had just learned to hunt. And behind the 100-foot wooden wall according to Huai'an standards, there is their imaginary prey, Mengyuan officers and soldiers or Xiangyong.

Opportunities are equal for everyone, especially on the battlefield, whether or not they can live and make meritorious contributions depends on their own abilities. After several years of subtle development, some of Zhu Chongjiu's concepts of equality have slowly penetrated into the hearts of ordinary people. Although Huaiyang is currently in various places, it is impossible to achieve true equality for all. But at least in the eyes of ordinary people, they see more opportunities to rise. And knowing that the effort you put in is usually rewarding.

"Lao Tzu wants to be a general, hang a seal and seal the marquis!" In the sound of hurried footsteps, Chang Xiaoer suddenly shouted in a low voice, supported by one arm, and jumped over the low wall made of wood, like a carp crossing the dragon gate.

Note 1: Yangqu, the governance of Jining Road in the Yuan Dynasty.