When the Yan army was stationed in Yangzhou, another news that made Zhu Di and Zhu Quan have a headache came, and Licheng Hou Shengyong led the army under his command to rush to the gateway of Jingshi Yingtian north of the Yangtze River, Puzikou, **.

Zhu Di knew that under the will of Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yun, the imperial court troops from all over the country would only increase, so he immediately led the army to advance forward. He was determined to complete his work in one battle, completely defeat Sheng Yong's troops, cross the Yangtze River as soon as possible, and march under the city of Beijing.

At the same time, the commander of the Southern Army, General Pingyan Sheng Yong, heard that the Yan army was coming, and his mood was by no means relaxed. In his vision, Zhu Di was bound to sweep away the periphery, take Yangzhou, and cross the river after the two important towns of Gaoyou. Even if these two cities are difficult to defeat the powerful Yan army, it is not difficult to hold on to the city for half a month, and they get enough food and grass to carry the burden, with the help of the Yangtze River sailor and Zhu Di in a decisive battle by the river, they may be able to defeat the Yan army that seems to be fierce in one fell swoop, but in fact has no way to retreat. Unexpectedly, people are not as good as heaven, Yangzhou, Gaoyou surrendered without a fight, and the anti-thief Zhu Di came so quickly, which caught him off guard.

"Fengtian carries the emperor, and the edict says: I have decreed that Xu Huizu, the Duke of Wei, should lead 50,000 soldiers and horses across the river from Beijing to reinforce the army, and ordered Chen Guicheng, the governor of the Yangtze River Naval Division, to wait for Sheng Yong to control it, and be sure to firmly contain the anti-thief Zhu Di and Zhu Quan on the north bank of the Yangtze River, so as to wait for the soldiers and horses of the King of Qin from all walks of life to surround it." At dusk, a middle-aged eunuch who rushed across the river from Beijing to Yingtian announced his decree in the marshal tent of the southern army camp. ”“

Sheng Yong led a group of generals under his command to kneel down to receive the order, and he couldn't help but feel relieved to hear that His Majesty the Emperor had finally made the right decision at this critical juncture. It turned out that the counterinsurgency wars in the past were all in the north, and although Sheng Yong was ordered to lead the armies of the imperial courts, the sailors of the Yangtze River trench before Yingtian, who were responsible for guarding the capital, were not among them. Thinking that the decisive battle was imminent, Sheng Yong had already sent people back to Beijing before he arrived at Puzikou, in addition to asking for the guilt, what was more important was to ask His Majesty the Emperor to send troops and horses from Beijing to cross the river for reinforcements. If he didn't get in the army tonight, he had already decided that the army would cross the river tomorrow with the help of the sailors, and rely on the natural danger of the Yangtze River to firmly stop the Yan army, which was mostly northerners, on the north bank of the Yangtze River.

Zhu Di took advantage of the morale of the soldiers and the southern army in Puzikou, ** fierce fighting for two days, and the casualties between the two sides can be described as equal.

The 50,000 troops from Yingtian had not yet reached the south bank of the Yangtze River under the command of Xu Huizu, the Duke of Wei, when they were recalled by the special envoy who rushed to the south of the Yangtze River. Xu Huizu knew that His Majesty the Emperor was inevitably suspicious because his sister was married to the thief Zhu Quan, and even if he was unwilling in his heart, he did not dare to openly resist the decree, so he had to lead the army to turn back.

On the vast river, hundreds of warships of different sizes and flying the flags of the Yangtze River Naval Division took advantage of the wind direction and headed towards the north bank.

A general about forty years old, tall and strong, with a beard under his chin, pressed the hilt of his sword, stood on the bow of the warship, looking at the vast and boundless river rolling white, and his heart was also up and down, and it was difficult to decide. It was the Governor Chen, who was in charge of commanding the imperial court sailors, who stayed on the south bank for two days, but could not see the arrival of reinforcements.

Seeing the hills on the south bank come into view, Chen finally made up his mind, and immediately ordered a boat to raise the flag, ordered a number of large and small warships on the river to anchor on the shore, and quietly ordered his henchmen to quietly go to the Yan army camp with their own letters, indicating that he was willing to lead the army to His Royal Highness King Yan and follow the intention of Fengtian Jingjing. If the act of escorting the county lord of Qingcheng across the river to negotiate peace that day only made him secretly slander the corrupt and misleading country, then the tens of thousands of reinforcements of Xu Huizu, the Duke of Wei, returned halfway to make him completely determined to be a meritorious man from the dragon.

That night, the imperial court commanded the safe surrender of the enemy, the reinforcements returned to the Beijing division, and the news that the sailor had rebelled against Zhu Di, the king of Yan, under the leadership of Chen, finally spread in the southern army camp, and countless generals and soldiers were in turmoil.

Sheng Yong sat alone in the tent, and he could hear the faintly noisy noise in the barracks, and couldn't help but sigh bitterly: "The order changes every day, how can you be undefeated?" ”

On the second day, the Yan army attacked under Zhu Di's orders. The southern army of more than 100,000 people had a big river blocking the road behind them, and the army was in great turmoil, and there were countless mutinies and defectors, and they were finally defeated by the fierce Yan army in one fell swoop. Licheng Hou Shengyong had no choice but to lead his soldiers and horses who were still loyal to the court and fled in defeat.

A few days later, Zhu Di, who had gathered the rout, led his army to board the naval warship and crossed towards the south bank.

On Chen's warship, Zhu Di looked back at the warships lined up on the vast river behind him, and the magnificent scene of chopping the waves and slashing the sails and marching forward, he couldn't help but be full of pride in his chest, and turned his head to Zhu Quan and smiled at Zhu Quan on the side: "Old Seventeen, I have lived in the north for a long time, and I am used to seeing land battles with thousands of troops and horses. Although he had crossed the river several times in the past, he had no choice but to be accompanied by a few official ships, which was far from being comparable to the scene of a thousand sails racing today.

"It's a pity that although I have Zhang Qian, the Hou of the Han Dynasty, and the Hou Banchao of Dingyuan, who visited the Western Regions thousands of miles away, there has never been a sailor who can reach a foreign land from the sea." Zheng He, who was watching the sailors crossing on the side, couldn't help but sigh when he saw the scene of huge ships crossing the river. Although he is not a Han Chinese, the former Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang once said in "Fengtian Seeking Yuan Yuanwen": For example, Mongolia and Semu, although they are not of the Chinese race, but between heaven and earth, there are people who can know etiquette and righteousness and are willing to be subjects, which are no different from those raised by people in Zhongxia. Therefore, he naturally called me Huaxia.

Zhu Di remembered the immortal achievements of Zheng He in repelling the commander of the Southern Army outside Beiping City in the past, and Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao Guogong, immediately laughed and said: "I think I am a brilliant person, what can't be made?" If one day there is a sailor sailing on the ocean, then you Zheng He will be the commander of the majestic side. ”

Zhu Quan faced the blowing river breeze, and when he heard Zhu Dikou say that one day the Ming sailors would be powerful from the sea, he couldn't help but feel very agitated in his chest, and suddenly smiled: "Fourth brother, then we have to build a bigger ship to show our Ming national prestige." After saying that, he walked to the side of the boat, looked at the flagship of the largest Yangtze River sailor, Du Du Chen, and said with great interest: "The wind at sea is high, and I am afraid that such a river ship will not be able to withstand it." ”

Zhu Di stood on the bow of the boat, and suddenly recalled in his mind that after the death of his eldest brother Zhu Biao, his father had secretly summoned him to return to Beijing, and when he set foot on the south bank with longing, he was unexpectedly commanded by Jinyiwei to make Jiang Xian come by order, so that he had to lose the past scene of returning north, and secretly thought to himself: The Yangtze River moat passed without a fight, and the king swore that he would never return empty-handed again this time.

More than ten days later, all the Yan soldiers who had crossed the Yangtze River came to Zhenjiang City, and the guards led the army to surrender. Two days later, Zhu Di and Zhu Quan led their troops into Longtan, which was only more than 60 miles away from Yingtian.

In the middle of the night, there was silence in the continuous Yan army camp. Zhu Quan came slowly, and saw that Ji Gang and others, who led the pro-army to guard around Zhu Di's tent on weekdays, were nowhere to be found, and he couldn't help but wonder when he stepped into the tent.

The spacious handsome tent was empty, only after Zhu Di, the king of Yan, sat alone on the handsome case, his face was quite cloudy and uncertain under the cover of the candlelight. Seeing Zhu Quan coming alone, he immediately pointed to his side and smiled: "Brother Xian, sit down." ”

When Zhu Quan sat down, Zhu Di let out a long sigh in his ears, and couldn't help asking: "Fourth brother, the army will be able to come to the city in a few days, why do you sigh like this?" ”

Zhu Di frowned and said: "I want to be the master of the capital should be operated by my father for decades, the city is strong and abnormal, the people are exhausted, the land is in danger, and there are still 100,000 city defense troops stationed. ”

Zhu Quan couldn't help but bow his head when he heard this, he had accompanied the Yingtian city wall and various city gates when the envoys of Timur came to Yingtian, and knew that this Ming Emperor was the former Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang adopted Zhu Sheng's strategy of "building a high wall", which cost countless manpower, material resources, and financial resources, and took 21 years to build. The bricks used in the construction of the city are engraved with the names of the craftsmen and the supervising officials, which can be seen in its solidity. As long as the defenders in the city have enough tenacity, even if the strength of the Yan army is two or three times more, they may not be able to get this number one fortified city in the Ming Dynasty in a hurry.

"I think my brother Fengtian is difficult, if he can take the Beijing division without blood, wouldn't it be a good thing for the soldiers and civilians inside and outside the city?" Zhu Di looked at Zhu Quan and said eloquently.

The so-called Fengtianjing's words on the side of the Qing monarch are pure self-deception and nonsense, Zhu Quan naturally understood in his heart, and when he heard Zhu Di say this, he still couldn't help but sigh lightly: "What the fourth brother said is very true, if there is a way to surrender without a fight, it is the best policy." If you have already had the intention of rebelling like a corrupt Confucian slanderer in the court, and the military power was in your hands when your father returned to heaven after the funeral of the emperor, how could you wait until His Majesty the Emperor today cut the military power and then hastily raise troops? Thinking back to the fact that the DPRK and China sent envoys to sue for peace again during the day, he suddenly chuckled and said: "What does the fourth brother mean, could it be that he still started from the two boys of Cao Guogong Li Jinglong and Gu Wang Zhu?" "It turned out that during the day, Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yun sent Li Jinglong, Zhu Wei, to meet Zhu Di, King of Yan, and Zhu Quan, King of Ning, and promised to cut the land to sue for peace. was rejected by Zhu Di on the grounds of cutting the land and being nameless.

Zhu Di nodded with a solemn expression, suddenly stood up and saluted Zhu Quan solemnly, and said earnestly: "The city and the city are all for my Ming soldiers and civilians, I want my father and emperor to have a spirit in the sky, and I never want to see us in the same room, attacking the city and fighting bloodily, so the foolish brother has a reluctant request, I hope that the virtuous brother will take a risk and go to the city to persuade Li Jinglong, and the two Zhu boys will abandon the darkness and turn to the light." "There are dozens of people who followed Li Jinglong to the barracks during the day, and Zhu Di wanted to find an opportunity to surrender this Cao Guogong several times, but he was afraid that there would be many people and mixed ears for fear of leaking the news, which was inconvenient.

Zhu Quan frowned and pondered for a moment before saying slowly: "The fourth brother is so trusted, the younger brother should take an adventure." said this in his mouth, but he couldn't help but secretly think in his heart: You said so high-soundingly, even Old Man Zhu came out to press me justifiably, in this case, I am afraid that I will not be able to refuse.

Zhu Di couldn't help pacing back and forth when he heard this, stroked his palms and laughed: "According to the report of the scouts in the city, our nephew takes Li Jinglong and Zhu as the generals, and leads the soldiers and horses to garrison Jinchuan Gate. ”

Of course, Zhu Quan, who made the first contribution, only made jokes, and when he heard that Zhu Yun actually let the army be defeated twice, Li Jinglong, the prince of Cao Guo, and a prince who buried the main force of the imperial army were responsible for guarding the Jinchuan Gate, and he could only smile bitterly at the wisdom of His Majesty the Jianwen Emperor.

Zhu Di Huo Ran paused, looked at Zhu Quan, who was sitting leisurely on the side, and finally said with a wry smile on his face after hesitating: "In addition, there is still a big problem for my brother, and I still need to give advice or two to my brother." ”

"Thinking about the fourth brother, you are resourceful, how can it be like many problems?" Zhu Quan asked with a somewhat gloating smile.

Zhu Di slowly sat down and said softly: "Brother Xian, do you still remember what our rude cousin, the lord of Qingcheng County said when he couldn't make peace and left?" "I have been fighting fiercely with the imperial army for several years, showing that the world is all Fengtian Jingjing, and the banner of the traitors in the court who persecuted the royal family, if it is the son of the eldest brother Zhu Biao, the father and the emperor told the world, and His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is really sitting on the Fengtian Palace, and I ask myself how to deal with it? Killed? Abrogate? Isn't it to expose one's own lies and provoke the shame of the world's subjects behind their backs? Since the complete defeat of Sheng Yong and the crossing of the Yan army across the river, this problem has been haunting Zhu Di's heart day by day, lingering like a nightmare, just because this huge problem is like a tiger riding a tiger for him, and it is better than the decisive victory on the battlefield of thousands of troops and horses.

Zhu Quan recalled the words of the county lord of Qingcheng that day, and he couldn't help frowning and smiling bitterly: "Then with the meaning of the fourth brother, how should I act to get the best of both worlds?" ”

Zhu Di said slowly: "If Li Jinglong and the others are willing to be the internal response, on the day the city is broken, Brother Yu hopes that our nephew can surrender the edict of guilt and abdicate to make way for Xian." He categorically would not announce such words in front of the generals, just because Zhu Quan is not only the same prince, but also has the same disease and sympathy with himself, so he can only spit out what he thinks when he is alone in this way.

Zhu Quan turned his head to look at Zhu Di and asked softly, "What if he insists on refusing?" He also held military power, and knew that power was a curse that could change all men in the world. When Zhu Laosi bought the leaders of the three tribes of Wuliang and Ha, but was controlled by himself, didn't he have a trace of the idea of fighting to the death with Zhu Yun and then winning the world? How much more about an emperor who has reigned over the world for several years? Although Zhu Laosi's idea is good, even if His Majesty the current emperor is faced with the situation of being unable to return to heaven, will his wish be fulfilled?