Zhu Quan stretched out his hand and scratched his head, frowned and said: "From now on, you will stay in my big army tent, and you must not lead the army to attack at night and go deep alone."

Zheng He saw Zhu Quan's solemn appearance, so he had to accept the order.

Zhu Quan smiled, and said in his heart: If there is an accident when you lead the troops to battle, this king will be guilty of too much.

Zheng He saw Zhu Quan's sudden and happy appearance, thinking that he was physically and mentally exhausted after a night of fierce fighting, so that he was a little delirious, and hurriedly persuaded him to return to the camp to rest earlier.

In the early morning of the second day, Zhu Di, the king of Yan, handed over all the foot soldiers of the Yan army under his command to Zhang Yu, Zhu Neng and other generals commanded, followed the imperial army to pursue and go, and he and Zhu Quan led all the cavalry under their command to chase forward, and did not entangle with the defeated southern army along the way, and chased along the direction of the rout of Li Jinglong, the commander of the southern army.

It is not easy for hundreds of thousands of troops to advance and retreat, attack and defend, let alone when the commander flees first and is defeated like a mountain. A group of generals and soldiers had no fighting spirit and captured countless people for the Yan army, and countless grains and grass fell into the hands of the Yan army.

Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao Guo, went south in a hurry and fled into the city of Dezhou in the northwest of Shandong. ”“

Zhu Di led the army in pursuit, and seeing that the city wall of Dezhou was solid, he turned his head to Zhu Quan and said: "Our army is all cavalry, and we can't storm the city, so it's better to withdraw for the time being, what do you think?" ”

Zhu Quan said with his head bowed when he heard this: "Although our army has won a great victory, the battle line has been stretched too long, and the transportation of grain and grass is difficult. It turned out that the army and horses led by the two of them were not only cavalry, but also only more than 30,000 people, and they had already left Zhang Yu, Zhu Neng and other Yan army generals far behind under the pursuit. Although the Yan army defeated the southern army under the city of Beiping, it was really determined, but the two important towns between the rivers were still occupied by the imperial army, and it was difficult to conquer in a hurry.

More than ten days later, in the living room of the Yanwang Mansion in Beiping, Dao Yan, who was wearing a black monk's robe, looked at Zhu Di and Zhu Quan, and said with a smile: "When our army is victorious, His Royal Highness should immediately write to the imperial court, explaining that this battle between the two armies is not His Royal Highness's intention to rebel, but it is actually forced by a traitor in the court, and he has no choice but to protect himself. ”

Zhu Quan couldn't help but laugh when he heard this: "We just fought to the death with the imperial army, and now it is already a situation where we will not stand on the other, and at this time, I still write to the court as a courtier, isn't it too snakey?" ”

Zhu Di couldn't help but bow his head, in his opinion, the battle has been fought in this earth-shattering situation, and the blood is flowing like a river, his nephew Zhu Yunwen is afraid that he will not be able to split his body with a knife, isn't it boring to write to the court like this?

Dao Yan saw that the two of them were unimpressed, so he immediately said: "This time, hundreds of thousands of troops in the imperial court were defeated under the city of Beiping, and Huang Zicheng, who recommended Li Jinglong as a general, Qi Tai, the secretary of the military department, could not escape the blame. ”

"Although it is hateful and ridiculous, it is undoubtedly a great help for the fourth brother and me. The night of hard fighting outside Beiping City has made him understand in his heart that the current Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen has lacked the blue jade of the past, Feng Sheng can generally be a commander alone, but there is no lack of Du Governor Qu Neng, all command peace, Sheng Yong's brave and good generals, these soldiers and generals are not so much defeated in the hands of Zhu Laosi and themselves, but by the corrupt Confucianism who talks about the army on paper in the DPRK and China, and the incompetent commander Li Jinglong is tied hand and foot, and he cannot do his best, so he fought such a defeat under the huge advantage of troops.

Dao Yan bowed his head slightly when he heard this, and said solemnly: "Your Highness only knows one and doesn't know the other. Speaking of this, he turned his head to look at Zhu Di, who was sitting silently and listening, and slowly continued: "Based on what His Highness sees, should His Majesty the Emperor regard the two Highnesses as chaotic ministers and thieves who hate to eat meat and bed?" ”

Zhu Di heard the resourceful teacher say this, his eyes flickered, and he said with some understanding: "From what the teacher sees, the more the king asks for severe punishment of Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai in the book, the more my nephew will not be as I wish?" ”

Dao Yan laughed and said, "If Your Highness, the enemy you hate is so loud that you ask you to punish your courtiers who are loyal to you, will you agree?" In Lao Gu's view, although Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai and others will inevitably be dismissed from office, they will not stay away from the center because of the defeat. ”

Speaking of which, Zhu Quan still doesn't understand that the so-called Shangshu court of the seemingly ugly old monk in front of him seems to be a provocative and senseless move, but in fact it is the opposite, pleading for Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai and other civil servants. Recalling that his treacherous and insidious strategy was based on the psychology of Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart, and secretly thought to himself: No wonder this old monk often boasts that he can compare with Li Shanchang, the Korean prince who assisted Emperor Hongwu in the past to establish the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di smiled and said: "In this case, this letter to His Majesty the Emperor was written by the teacher. Speaking of this, a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he said lightly: "This king not only wants to explain that there is absolutely no intention of rebellion, but also release thousands of captured soldiers and generals who refuse to return to the south, in order to show the sincerity of not wanting to fight in the same room." ”

In the imperial study of the Forbidden City in Yingtian, Zhu Yunwen, the Jianwen Emperor wearing a dragon robe, scanned the battle report from the captured general and Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao Guolong, on the desk, and the anger in his heart could no longer be suppressed, he suddenly stood up, stretched out his hand to grab the battle report and threw it on the ground, and roared in a low voice: "Incompetent to the extreme, incompetent to the extreme, the 500,000 army can't deal with Zhu Di, Zhu Quan is a thief, such an incompetent person, what's the use of staying?" "It turned out that Beiping City was defeated, the imperial army suffered casualties, and the total number of captured generals and colonels was more than 100,000, and it is not an exaggeration to call it a fiasco.

Huang Zicheng, who was born with three long beards under his chin, has seen the report of Li Jinglong's defeat in Beiping, and his face has long been devoid of the handsome spirit on weekdays, and a heavy sense of guilt is like Mount Tai pressing down, cold sweat is pouring down his forehead, and he immediately kowtows to the ground and pleads: "The foolish minister has no knowledge of people, so that the king is defeated by this, which humiliates the court, and I implore Your Majesty to behead Weichen and Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao." ”

Seeing this friend lying on the ground and asking for death, Qi Tai, the secretary of the military department, couldn't help but let out a long sigh, and did not come forward to intercede, but knelt down at his side and kowtowed: "Weichen Qi Tai, as the secretary of the military department, is really to blame for Li Jinglong's defeat in Beiping, and I implore Your Majesty to surrender his guilt." ”

Seeing Qi Tai's solemn plea, Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but feel a sense of exhaustion in his chest, and his eyes swept over the letter from Beiping, the anti-thief Zhu Di, Zhu Quan's words seemed to be respectful, asking him to severely punish the so-called "traitorous villain", and he couldn't help but feel an irrepressible anger in his heart, and said slowly: "Qi Tai, the secretary of the military department, Huang Zichengge, Taichangqing, went to the official position, and stayed in the imperial study to listen to it. Ru Yu succeeded Qi Tai as the secretary of the military department. Speaking of this, he couldn't help frowning, and after hesitating for a while, he finally said slowly: "The general of the conquest, Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao Guo, lost his teacher and humiliated the country, and deserved death for his crimes. ”

Huang Zicheng was shocked when he heard this: "Your Majesty, you must no longer use this incompetent person as a general, and you should choose another good general to lead the king's ......."

"This defeat is really caused by hasty troops and light on the enemy." Zhu Yunwen recalled in his mind that Li Jinglong, the prince of Cao Guo, who was above the temple in the past, had said that the army was rebellious, and it was the most appropriate words when winter went to spring, and said with a wry smile. At this moment, his heart was clear, the reason why Li Jinglong was defeated in Beiping was that he was in a hurry to quell the rebellion, and chose such a season in early winter that was completely unfavorable to the imperial army.

In the night, Qi Tai had just returned to the mansion and received a report from his family, saying that he was visiting Zhuo Jing in the matter from the household department, and he was waiting in the living room.

Qi Tai knew that although this household branch who was much younger than himself had a low official position, his resourcefulness could not be underestimated, so he frowned and groaned slightly, and walked forward slowly, while saying, "I invited him to meet in the study." ”

After Zhuo Jing walked into the study, the two of them sat down, and after the Qi Mansion who was waiting for the tea retreated, he frowned and arched his hand and said: "The visit of the lower officials late at night is really due to the fact that Li Jinglong's army was defeated in Beiping this time, and he has some advice in his heart, but I am afraid that he will not be pleased with His Majesty." ”

Originally, the Chinese courtiers of the dynasty in the past could roughly be divided into three types of cutting vassals for His Majesty the Emperor, one was headed by Xia Yuanji, the household attendant, thinking that Zhu Di, Zhu Quan, and others were the ancestral training of the former emperor who divided the clan and did not tin the soil, and the princes did not come to the people, and could not be compared with those princes who were in the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms during the Jing Emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, and it was difficult to threaten the imperial power and oppose the cutting of the clan. One is that the cutting of the feudal domain admonished by Zhuo Jing in front of him should be slowly figured out, and it will be slowly weakened quietly. The other is what he and Huang Zicheng and most of the officials in the court promoted, and they did not hesitate to fight and forcefully cut off a number of vassal kings. At present, whether it is against the reduction of the feudal domain, or the officials who are slowly trying to figure it out, none of them are pleased with His Majesty the Emperor.

Qi Tai knew that there must be something important for him to visit late at night, and when he heard this, he not only sighed softly, but his mood became more and more heavy and unspeakable.

Zhuo Jing sorted out his thoughts a little and said in a deep voice: "Li Jinglong lost his teacher and humiliated the country, and it is difficult to escape the serious crime of Taichang Qing Huang Zicheng's recommendation of people, but Lord Shangshu used to vigorously oppose His Majesty's use of Li Jinglong as a general, which is a matter that is obvious to all in the Chinese martial arts, so the lower official intends to advise His Majesty tomorrow above the early dynasty, hoping that Lord Shangshu can ignore the gossip of others, and take the imperial court and society as the most important, and not to blame and resign." It turned out that after he learned the news of Li Jinglong's defeat, he immediately discussed privately with several knowledgeable officials in the DPRK and China, and came to a conclusion that the commander Li Jinglong should be beheaded for his crimes. Taichangqing Huang Zicheng improperly recommended people and dismissed the official from his post, but he also did it. However, Qi Tai, the secretary of the military department, is the highest commander in charge of all the armies of the Ming court, and there is no one more secure than Qi Tai in the court, so he must not be moved lightly.

Qi Tai heard Zhuo Jing's words, let out a long sigh and said with a wry smile: "This official, as the secretary of the military department, is to blame for the defeat of Cao Guogong's army. ”

"Lord Shangshu's words are also bad, this time the defeat of the royal division, resulting in a shock to the government and the opposition, when this Yan rebellion is violent, the court should be determined to sweep away the chaotic ministers and thieves, the ministry is the highest official of all the generals and soldiers of the Ming court, how can it be easy to transpose others? So that the civil and military forces of the DPRK and China are in chaos? I also hope that adults will not care about personal honor and disgrace, and will not be burdened by the fame of the world. Zhuo Jing heard Qi Tai's words, and hurriedly persuaded him. said this in his mouth, and secretly thought to himself: Lord Shangshu was already a squire of the military department when he was the first emperor, and he was very helpful when Song Guogong and Lan Yu led the army to the expedition in the past. Although he was not familiar with military affairs, he also knew that the secretary of the military department was not only the supreme commander of all the armies under the Ming Dynasty, but also had the important responsibility of mobilizing reinforcements and raising food and grass.

Qi Tai said with a wry smile on his face: "When I was in the palace, Your Majesty had already issued an order to remove the two of us from our official positions. ”

Zhuo Jing couldn't help but be shocked when he heard this, and when Huo Ran stood up, he knocked the teacup in his hand to the ground and smashed it. He thought in his heart: When Li Jinglong's army was defeated, he was afraid that the generals and colonels of the defenders in various places would be deceived by the shameless lies of the anti-thief Zhu Di's so-called "Fengtian Jingjing" and watched left and right. If the military department Shangshu is transposed to others, won't it make those who wait and see left and right even more disappointed in the imperial court and turn to the rebellious side?

In the cold winter, Zhu Di and Zhu Quan were busy collecting and appeasing the captured generals and soldiers of the Southern Army, turning them into their own military strength. And Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao Guo, saw that although His Majesty the Emperor reprimanded him sternly in his will, he did not condemn himself, and still let himself lead the army to quell the rebellion, he couldn't help but be grateful, and he felt like he had escaped death.

Winter turns to spring, and the ice and snow melt. At the beginning of April, Li Jinglong, the general of the conquest, saw that the weather was getting warmer, and led an army of about 400,000 under his command to the north again.

In the first battle of Beiping, the Yan army captured tens of thousands of people, Zhu Di after several months of reorganization, a total of more than 220,000 troops under his command, the scout reported Li Jinglong led the army to attack, determined to take the initiative to attack, leaving the army and horses to guard Beiping, personally led Zhu Quan, Zhang Yu, Zhu Neng, Qiu Fu and other generals, led 200,000 soldiers and horses to the south.

Near Baoding, a river with a width of about ten zhang meanders from west to east, called Baigou River.