Author: Painstaking Fang Congzhe

After the failure of the Northern Expedition in the second year of Jianwen, the Ming army marched south, once hit Yangzhou, and Nanjing responded to the Tianfu earthquake. And Zhu Yuanzhang's hometown Beijing Zhongji Mansion (that is, Fengyang, formerly known as Zhongli Mansion, etc., I set Zhu Yuanzhang here to build as Beijing Zhongji Mansion, as the accompanying capital) was also captured by Zhang Yu and others deployed by Zhang Yu and others in the deputy capital of the Ming army's Henan camp.

"The ancestral tomb fell, and the world shook." It can be described as a portrayal of this fiasco.

After the defeat of this campaign, Emperor Jianwen did not learn his lesson. On the contrary, he was anxious to change the color immediately to calm the army.

In the third year of Jianwen, he took the captain of the horse and Mei Yin as an important matter to join the military state, gave him the power to govern, and said that he would rehabilitate the patriarchal and important minister group. He also summoned the King of Yan and the King of Han to leave the fiefdom and come to Beijing to "praise the military and practice the elite soldiers".

In the autumn of the third year of Jianwen, all the troops of Deng She returned to the north. Emperor Jianwen was about to move again, and said to his subordinates: "Pengcheng, Ninghuai (Shouyang) two mansions, the gateway to the world; Beijing is in the middle pole, and the ancestral tomb is important. Today, the Khitan (contemptuous name for the Ming Dynasty of Deng She) is fleeing south, stealing this confidant, and I am uneasy. ”

Most of the ministers were opposed to marching into the army. But this time, in addition to Emperor Jianwen's small circle of cronies, the official Shangshu Jianyi also expressed his support for Emperor Jianwen, he said: "If Gou can't take the opportunity to recover, then the two Huai can't be guarded, how can the river be ashamed?" Zhu Di, the king of Chu, also said: "If you don't return to Ninghuai, you will still open the door to arrest thieves and send yourself to death." In terms of military generals, although most people are war-weary, Xu Huizu said: "The Ming people are better than me, and they can fight!" ”

In August of mid-autumn, Emperor Jianwen asked the Ming Dynasty for Pengcheng, Ninghuai and other four prefectures, with Xu Huizu, the Duke of Wei, as the general of the Chinese army, and selected 15,000 people (3,000 cavalry, 10,000 infantry, and 2,000 firearms troops) of the 12 guards to go out of the northern expedition of Jiangbei. another 20,000 soldiers of Sheng Yong, the vanguard general of the expedition to the north; The left deputy general of the Chinese army, Ping An Chu, 10,000 soldiers; The right deputy general of the Chinese army, Marquis Yue Wei (the first year of Jianwen), Yu Tongyuan, commanded the naval army of 5,000 to respond. With a total strength of 50,000, claimed to be 200,000, they were ready to raid Huaishang and restore the old defensive line. Before leaving the capital gate

At the same time, Zhu Lu, the king of Yong, guarded Xiangyang, and the general Han army was in charge of the army, and the Huguang Xingdu Division was controlled. Zhu Bai, the king of Xiang, took the town of Jingzhou, and commanded the armies of the upper reaches of the city, and controlled the Huguang Division. He also drew troops and horses from Annam and went north. On the surface, it was to strengthen defense, but in fact it was to weaken the strong feudal domains of Yue, Chu, and Han.

The kings of Wu in this time and space:

Zhu Fan was sealed in Chengdu and was the king of Shu; Zhu Li was sealed in Guangzhou and was the king of Yue; Zhu Di was sealed in Wuchang and was the king of Chu; Zhu Hu was sealed in Hangzhou and was the king of Wu (abolished as a concubine in the first year of Jianwen); Zhu Zhen was first sealed in Jingzhou, and later transferred to Chongqing, as the king of Ba; Zhu Yu was sealed in Ninghuai and was the king of Song (abolished as a concubine in the first year of Jianwen); Zhu Zifeng was sealed in Changsha and was the king of Tan; Zhu Tan was sealed in Fuzhou and was the king of Fujian. Zhu Shouqian, reduced to the first rank of the prince, was crowned as the king of Jingjiang in Guilin.

Zhu Chun was sealed in Hanzhong and was the king of Qin; Zhu Bai was sealed in Jingzhou and was the king of Xiang; Zhu Gui was sealed in Guizhou and became the king of Gui (abolished as a concubine in the first year of Jianwen); Zhu Ao was sealed in Nanning and was the king of Ning; Zhu Zhi was sealed in Pengcheng and was the king of Xu (later the king of Lu).

Zhu Chang was sealed in Nanchang and was the king of Hong; Zhu Quan was sealed in Jiujiang and was the king of Han; Zhu Yang was sealed in Minzhou, as the king of Min, and later transferred to Kunming; Zhu Lu was sealed in Xiangyang and was the king of Yong; Zhu Song was sealed in Anqing as the king of Shu; Zhu Mo was sealed in Yangzhou and was the king of Wei; Zhu Ying was sealed in Luzhou and was the king of An; Zhu Huan was sealed in Hanzhong and was the king of Tang; Zhu Dong was sealed in Anlu and was the king of Ying; Zhu Qi was sealed in Quanzhou and was the king of Hu.

Since the main force of Deng She returned to the north, the Ming army set up three camps of Huaizuo, Huaiyou, and Tang Deng on the southern front, and abolished two camps in Henan and Shandong. Huaizuo Xing Battalion was stationed in Pengcheng, under the jurisdiction of two field armies, six guards, four garrisons, about 50,000 soldiers; The Huaiyouxing battalion was stationed in Luzhou, with a field army, five guards, and three garrisons, and 33,000 soldiers.

In the Ming Dynasty, the commander of the Huaiyou side was the Henan system envoy [Congerpin], the Marquis of Qinghe, and the Henan Xingying all deployed Guo Conglong. However, because of the death of Fu Youde, a veteran of Xia Guogong who had guarded Longyou for many years, Zhao Guojun's Northern Expedition failed to win completely. Therefore, for a while, the Ming army needed to greatly adjust its deployment, and Guo Conglong was recalled as the governor of the guards and the pro-army governor [Congerpin]. The former camp capital Yuhou, the senator of the Henan System and Establishment Division [Zheng Sipin], and the general Xuanwei [the fourteenth rank of military attaché] Fang Jichong temporarily served as the commander-in-chief of the whole army.

Guarding the area around Ninghuai is the envoy of the Henan System and Placement Division [Cong Sanpin], General Zhaoyong [Military Attache Tenth Rank], and the deputy of the Huaiyou Battalion is deployed Zhang Yu.

This brings about problems in the command system. Zhang Yu and Tang Deng Xingying's deputy battalion both deployed Guo Yun, and they were both great generals of the Chakhan Timurid army. Shi Mongolia, the official to the Privy Council of Cong Yipin, are all veterans and have rich experience. Fang Jichong was born as a Jinshi, and only joined the army after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, although he had many military exploits in the war with the remnant Yuan, but after all, his qualifications were still shallow. Zhang Yu was not convinced by the young Fang Jichong, and Fang Jichong also relied on himself as a jinshi from Rong and Jiangwutang, and looked down on Zhang Yu, who was born as a general.

On the Huaizuo side, it is much more reliable, the original Shandong capital deployment, Licheng Hou Yang Wanhu transferred to the Huaizuo capital deployment, sitting in Pengcheng. After Guo Conglong left, Huaiyou's troops were theoretically under his control.

In addition, in terms of civil officials, they also urgently dispatched the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War, Zhang Yu, who had served as the left attendant of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War, and Zhang Yu, the chief doctor [the eleventh rank of civil officials], to serve as the pacification envoy of the two Huai, and made plans to take over the two Huai and operate for a long time.

But whoever it is, after last year's victory, they have developed a mood of underestimating the enemy, and believe that Wu's counterattack cannot be so rapid.

Zhang Hao: Born in 1358. A native of Zezhou, Shanxi. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the main thing was to promote talents and enter the Ministry of Industry. Later, he was tired of officials to the right waiter of the Ministry of Works, the left waiter of the Ministry of Industry, the water supervisor, out of the governor of the Governor of the Doctor, the left waiter of the Criminal Department, the left waiter of the Ministry of War, and the political envoy of Liaodong. Re-enter as the left waiter of the household department, and go out as the pacification envoy of the two Huai.