When Emperor Jianwen's head was sent to Zhu Di after a long bump, Zhu Di was outside the plug.

During this time, not only Jiang Xinghuo in the south was carrying out the Qingtian operation, but Zhu Di also began to strengthen the security of the northern border according to the predetermined plan.

Of course, in Zhu Di's logic, strengthening security is by no means about doing more defense, but taking the initiative to kill the enemy, and you will be safe.

The north wind swept the white grass and folded, and the snow flew in August.

The sky was so low that it seemed to press down on the ground, and the dark clouds were as dense as a thick quilt, blocking the light of the stars and moon, making the night even darker and deeper.

The first snow in Mobei is like countless pieces of fine paper, falling from the sky one after another, each snowflake seems to tell the cold and ruthlessness of winter, and at this time the ground has been covered with a thick snow blanket, the Ming soldiers in charge of patrolling, the cotton boots under their feet will make a creaking sound, which is a unique movement in the north.

In this silvery world, the tents of the Ming army stand in the wind and snow like islands on the sea, they are covered by thick snow, and only the sentinels who always stand are like lighthouses in the sea, guarding the safety of all the Ming troops.

And with the heavy snow came a strong wind, and even the hot breath exhaled by the patrol soldiers was blown away by the wind before it could breathe, leaving only a few faint fires swaying in the darkness, like a disoriented wandering spirit, looking for a home in the cold wind.

The soldiers on patrol were wrapped in heavy new cotton armor, wearing fur hats and cotton towels around their ears, stepping on the snow, trudging through the camps, carrying spears on their backs, holding the hilts of their swords, their figures looming in the faint light of the braziers, even so, their faces were red from the cold, but their eyes were extraordinarily determined, especially when they looked at the tents of the Chinese army.

In the past two years, because of the main force of the Yan army to the south, the border situation in the north has become very unstable, although there are many Mongolian tribes who have attached themselves and expressed their submission as a buffer zone on the border, but the Mongols led by the Tatar Department will still go south from time to time to fight the grass valley, the Ming army on the border is not only at a numerical disadvantage, but also the border line of defense is extremely long, it is difficult to form an effective counterattack, often after receiving the news to gather troops and horses, the other side has withdrawn.

But Zhu Di's actions were very bold.

On the way to the north, Yu Henan began to turn around to the west, all the way into Tongguan, and then the main force was led by Zhu Di to march to Xi'an, and the remaining part was led by Zhu Neng from Puban into Shanxi, from Puban to Tongguan, which not only constituted an important defense line in the Guanzhong region to resist the east, but also the bridgehead of the Guanzhong region to attack outward.

And Zhu Di controlled these two key points, not only cut off the connection between the Qin and Jin domains, but also directly made it lose the meaning of defense, and at the same time Sheng Yong and Ping'an, who had been assembled in Daibei, led the army from Datong Town, and then entered the basin through Yanmen.

There is no need to say much about the subsequent things, in the face of the fourth uncle's physical visit with a big knife, the two eldest nephews who were not ready were as well-behaved as quails, and the three guards who were unwilling to return before were honestly offered this time. If you don't give it, you can't do it, because their three guards and tens of thousands of horses have been surrounded by regiments, and if you are not decent, the fourth uncle will help you be decent.

Although these two boys were able to understand the general situation in the end, the fourth uncle was very happy, but the fourth uncle didn't like the previous unruly behavior of these two boys.

So these two boys were confined to the palace, and they were enlightened in the big prison formed by their own families, and when they were released to see the situation.

After that, when the supplies were almost hoarded in Beijing, and enough information on the grassland was collected, he began to lead the army out of the fortress.

Generally speaking, the nomads on the northern grasslands will go south to fight the grass valley when the horses are high in autumn, while the Han army will not use troops in the autumn harvest season, because once the troops are used, they must recruit one to several times the size of their own army to carry out logistics escort and other work, which will inevitably affect the autumn harvest.

Now after the war in the north, the population is even more sparse than during the Hongwu Dynasty, so Zhu Di did not use troops during the autumn harvest, but set off in the summer, but now he has been turning around in the vast grassland for a month, and the supply line is getting longer and longer.

But it is by no means easy to find traces of the enemy in the grasslands and deserts, and if it is really easy, it is not as difficult as Li Guang.

At this time, in the big tent of the Chinese army, a dim oil lamp hung in the center, and the flickering light stretched the shadow on the bed in the tent and projected it on the curtain, but this shadow was constantly changing with the movement of the master.

Zhu Di was lying on the bed, the lower corner of the brocade quilt on his body had been kicked to the side by him, he was tense, his brows were tightly locked, his forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, obviously he was not sleeping peacefully, his breathing was heavy and rapid, as if he was experiencing something thrilling in a dream.

The thick fabric of the tent swayed under the raging wind, making a rustling sound, which was particularly clear in the silent night, as if something was peeping outside, and this sound was intertwined with Zhu Di's heavy breathing, forming an oppressive and tense atmosphere.

In the dream, Zhu Di seemed to have entered an unknown world, surrounded by a thick fog, this fog was white, he didn't know where he was, and he didn't know how to leave, he could only keep looking around, hoping to find a clue or exit, Zhu Di tried to open his eyes, but his vision was still blocked by the fog and could not penetrate.

Zhu Di drew his knife, but he didn't see the enemy, and he didn't know where his target was, his steps began to stagger and steady, as if he was looking for something, but he didn't know where to go, this feeling of helplessness and confusion made him feel as if he was being swallowed by this fog.

"Who? Who is hiding there? ”

Zhu Di seemed to feel something, he held the knife tightly in his hand, and then slashed forward, but there was nothing in front of him, he seemed to be trapped in an invisible cage, unable to escape.

But then in the next moment, Zhu Di suddenly broke through a door, he tripped over the threshold, and when he got up again, the knife that he was holding tightly when he fell in his hand disappeared somehow, and Zhu Di chose to clench his fists and continue to observe the surroundings vigilantly.

And a figure gradually appeared in front of him, and as the figure approached, Zhu Di finally saw the face of the person who came - it was his father, Emperor Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Di's fists, which were still clenched tightly just now, began to be covered with sweat.

Seeing his father, Zhu Di immediately felt a huge pressure and fear, his legs were weak, and he knelt on the ground, he couldn't believe his eyes, didn't his father have died? How did it end up here?

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was serious and cold, his eyes revealed deep dissatisfaction and anger towards Zhu Di, and his gaze seemed to penetrate Zhu Di's heart, leaving him with nowhere to hide.

Zhu Di didn't dare to look directly into Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, so he could only look down at his hands, which had always been extremely stable with a knife and a bow, and trembled at this time.

He knew that he had committed an unforgivable crime, killing his nephew Zhu Yunwen and usurping the throne, which was undoubtedly a great rebellion in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

Zhu Yuanzhang sternly asked Zhu Di why he did something rebellious and killed his own nephew Zhu Yunwen, his voice echoed in the fog, as if from another world, this voice was full of majesty and anger, making Zhu Di feel that his heart was tightly gripped, he couldn't breathe, couldn't argue, and could only silently bear the anger of his father.

Under Zhu Yuanzhang's repeated questioning, Zhu Di finally opened his mouth to defend himself.

"Father! Father! Erchen didn't kill his eldest nephew! ”

Zhu Di's voice was trembling and weak, as if it would be blown away by the wind at any time.

He tried to explain that his behavior was out of loyalty to the Ming Dynasty and his responsibility to the old Zhu family, however, Zhu Yuanzhang's anger did not dissipate, and these justifications seemed so pale and powerless in the face of Zhu Yuanzhang's anger, he approached Zhu Di step by step, and Zhu Di could only sit on the ground with his buttocks, supporting him step by step and retreating step by step.

Zhu Di retreated to the edge of a cliff, he had no way out, he felt a deep despair and helplessness, as if he was standing on the edge of life and death.

And Zhu Di looked at the angry Zhu Yuanzhang, his eyes were full of fear and helplessness, he knew that his actions had angered his father's rebellion, no one in this world could fight against Zhu Yuanzhang's anger, not even him, he couldn't ask for forgiveness.

Zhu Di was about to be forced to fall off the cliff by Zhu Yuanzhang, and at this time, Zhu Di spoke.

"Father, the son is better than him! Let the sons be the emperor! ”

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard his words, he was silent, and then he no longer approached him, but walked towards the cliff unexpectedly, and when he stepped out, he fell into the cliff and disappeared into the white mist.

Zhu Di subconsciously got up and wanted to pull it, but he didn't get anything.

Zhu Di shouted loudly, hoping that Zhu Yuanzhang would be able to hear his repentance and remorse, but Zhu Yuanzhang's figure could not be seen in the white fog at all.

Zhu Di felt that his heart was empty, as if something was leaving him, he stretched out his hand to grab something, but in the end he could only hang down weakly.

"Father, don't leave your sons, your sons are not emperors, you are not emperors!"

Zhu Di muttered to himself lonely.

At this moment, he felt lonely and helpless like never before.

"Dad, you don't want to be for me."

Suddenly, Zhu Di woke up from his dream and sat up suddenly, sweat soaked through his inner lining, and the cold wind blowing from outside the tent made him feel a chill.

Zhu Di gasped heavily, his heart still beating fast and powerful, and looked around, the dim lights and swaying tent fabrics told him that he was still in the military camp of the Northern Expedition.

The sound of the wind and snow outside vaguely came into his ears, allowing him to gradually distinguish the boundary between reality and dreams, but everything in the dream was so real that he had palpitations.

But all the palpitations in his heart turned into anger when he faced his tall second son.

Zhu Di slapped Zhu Gaoxu's arm.

"You want to be the emperor, don't you?"

"It's not."

Zhu Gaoxu scratched his head and said: "Dad, you said it yourself, just now I said that you asked your grandfather not to leave you, you are not the emperor, I am thinking that my father is not the emperor anymore, and no one wants this throne, so let me sit down." ”

Zhu Di resisted the urge to rub his palms, just now he slapped down, Zhu Gaoxu was fine, but he was beaten and hurt.

"Okay, you have to remember that Lao Tzu is not dead yet, I made you want to be the emperor, I made you want to be the emperor!"

Zhu Di jumped out of bed, pulled out a knife in one hand and was about to cut Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaochu was so frightened that he hurriedly jumped to the other side of the bed: "Don't, the son is joking, my father is angry!" ”

When he was joking, he called his father, and when he stopped joking, he immediately switched seamlessly to his father, Zhu Gaoxu was still quite conscious.

At this time, looking at Zhu Gaoxu, whose eyes were a little dark, Zhu Di actually felt a little sorry for his second son, even if it was iron, he was holding vigil for him on the small bed outside for half the night, and he couldn't stay up.

It's just like Li Shimin after the Xuanwu Gate, if there is no person he trusts the most to keep vigil for him and give him a psychological hint, it will be difficult to sleep peacefully with Zhu Di's heart disease.

"Get out of here and go to bed!"

Father's love is like a landslide, and I wanted to express a thousand words of love, but this is all left on my lips.

Zhu Di waved his knife and roared at Zhu Gaoxu: "If you dare to say such nonsense in the future, be careful that I screw your head off as a night pot." ”

"Yes!"

Zhu Gaoxu ran out of the big tent in a hurry, breathed a long sigh of relief, wiped the sweat beads from his forehead, raised his head, and found that the sky outside had been white, and the sky was gray.

It's strange to say, when Zhu Di was in Nanjing, he lived in the place where Zhu Yuanzhang lived, and he always had this kind of nightmare, and even needed Zhu Gaoxu to guard the door to fall asleep, and he basically didn't have this kind of nightmare on the way to the north, so what's going on today?

At this time, it was the time when people were most sleepy, seeing that the two young little firefighters were guarding the big tent and dozing off a little, Zhu Gaoxu patted them on the shoulder, and the two small firefighters immediately woke up, so frightened that their souls flew, and when they were on duty, they took a nap and said that it was a capital crime.

Seeing that it was Zhu Gaoxu, he relaxed and called out respectfully: "Your Highness." ”

Zhu Gaoxu touched a few golden beans from his waist, stuffed them into their palms, and asked quietly, "What happened yesterday?" ”

The two little firefighters hesitated for a moment, and it was true that the chamberlain communicated with the foreign ministers that it was a capital crime, but they remembered the godfather's instructions, and the second prince not only woke them up to avoid accidents but also gave them golden beans, so they still said truthfully: "There is a small box sent from the south, I don't know what it is." ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded, patted the two little firefighters and left.

Combined with the content of Zhu Di's dream talk just now, in fact, Zhu Gaoxu had already guessed it.

- Eighty percent of the ones sent over are Zhu Yunwen's head.

In the big tent, Zhu Di sat on the edge of the bed, did not lie down immediately, but fell into deep contemplation, he recalled the scene in the dream, his father Zhu Yuanzhang's angry face and stern questioning are still vivid, he knows that the dream may be the condemnation of his father's spirit in the sky, is the anger and dissatisfaction with his struggle for the throne and the cannibalism between his uncle and nephew.

But at this point, how can there be a way back?

Zhu Di lost his sleepiness, bent down and took out a box from under the bed, and when he opened the box, it was Zhu Yunwen's salted head.

Looking at this head, Zhu Di's complexion gradually sank.

"Eldest nephew, just ran to complain to your grandfather?"

At this time, Zhu Di had completely recovered from the short-term fragility of the dream.

"It's okay, you can sue it."

Zhu Di kindly patted his eldest nephew's head and said, "You haven't been to the north yet, this time I will take you to take a good look at how I defeated the Tatars and cleared the north. It's something you can't do in your lifetime, and only I can do it as an emperor, you know? ”

Zhu Di buckled the box and kicked it under the bed.

This is Zhu Di's cruel side, sometimes he is such a person, cruel to himself and cruel to others.

If it weren't for this kind of character, Zhu Di would not have been able to climb the ice and snow to achieve a great victory in Mobei back then, and it would be impossible for him to pretend to be crazy and stupid to delay his rebellion plan for enough time.

Similarly, it is precisely because of this character that Zhu Di can love killing and war, and can make the decision to punish the ten tribes.

After a short period of contemplation and introspection, Zhu Di gradually regained his composure and firmness, he knew that no matter what the dream was, he could not change what had happened, and now, the only thing he could do was to continue to move forward, complete the mission of the Northern Expedition, and prove himself with practical actions.

As Zhu Di walked out of the tent, a biting cold wind rushed towards him, making him shiver, however, when he looked up, he was shocked by the scene in front of him.

The white of the fish belly in the eastern sky gradually expanded, and then a touch of red glow slowly rose, dyeing the whole world into warm colors, this is the first ray of sunlight of dawn, it sprinkled on Zhu Di's body, as if he was clothed with a layer of golden armor, giving him endless strength and courage.

Zhu Di looked into the distance, his eyes were full of determination, he knew that the road to the north was still very long, full of unknowns and challenges, but the ancient famous generals had faced these problems, he had made sufficient preparations for this expedition, no matter how many difficulties and obstacles ahead, he would move forward bravely like the first northern expedition when he was young, until he returned victorious.

And the most important thing is that Zhu Di didn't feel strange at all when he came to this land, because he had already walked this route fourteen years ago.

In the twenty-third year of Hongwu, Zhu Di, who was still the king of Yan, led Fu Youde and other famous generals out of Gubeikou, and detected that Nai'er, the Taiwei of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, was stationed in Mudu without spending time, so he waved his army forward.

At this time, it coincided with heavy snowfall, and all the generals wanted to wait for the snow to stop before marching, but Zhu Di thought that it was snowing heavily, and the enemy army must not expect the Ming army to arrive, so they should take the snow to advance quickly, so when the army arrived in the capital, it was only separated from the Yuan army by a moraine, and it was not discovered.

Zhu Di surrounded the Mongols and sent people to persuade them to surrender successfully, obtained a large number of cattle, sheep and horses, and the good news reached Zhu Yuanzhang, Lao Zhu said happily: "Those who clear the desert, the king of Yan is also!" ”

Since then, the reputation of Zhu Di, the king of Yan, began to spread throughout Mobei, and the attack on the Northern Yuan Dynasty was also Zhu Di's main task in the ten years after the twenty-third year of Hongwu.

The footprints of Zhu Di's war horse have traveled all over this land, and when he came here, Zhu Di felt that he had returned to the most familiar field.

As the day dawned and the blizzard stopped, the armies began to bury their pots and cook, and after eating and drinking, they set off again.

On the way to the march, Zhu Di rode his horse to a high ground, he rode a majestic war horse, standing on the hill to think, and behind him, there were dense and endless Ming soldiers.

Looking back at the huge army he led, Zhu Di's eyes flashed with confidence and pride, this army that could be ranked in the forefront of the entire Chinese history, no nomad could defeat in the case of sufficient supplies, so the only problem he had to consider was how to find the enemy.

Tanma has scattered to the surrounding distance of hundreds of miles to find the traces of the main force of the Tatar department, Zhu Di is very patient, although the enemy has always avoided the battle, but they can't hide for long, because the main force of the Tatar department is too large, there are not many grasslands that can carry these people, there are only a few fixed locations, as long as they don't run away, then they can always catch them.

There is a sea in the northwest under the hill, the sea is full of birds such as ducks, geese, hong, geese, etc., the white ones are like snow, the black ones are like ink, there are several Ming cavalry who take water gallop to them, these birds fly up from the water surface immediately, wait for people to go before they come back, flutter back to fly on the water surface, full of high spirits.

A flock of geese rested, flying from the sea, if someone can observe the land below from the eyes of the wild geese, then you can find the spectacular scene of the three major battalions of the Ming army marching in formation, the infantry phalanx steps neatly, every step is firm; The cavalry rode like a torrent of steel rushing on the plain; The artillerymen carefully pushed the artillery carts from behind to make sure the mules and horses were not too strained.

The army stretching for dozens of miles from north to south is like a giant dragon meandering forward, the five-color flag of the Ming army flutters in the wind, each flag represents a combat unit, they converge into an unstoppable force, the halberd is lined up, flashing with cold light, and even the geese can't look at it directly.

Zhu Di rode on a war horse, overlooking this spectacular marching scene from the height of the hill, and his heart was full of complex emotions.

On the one hand, he feels extremely proud and satisfied, this well-trained, well-equipped army is the crystallization of his years of hard work, but also the most powerful guarantee for the stability of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di is convinced that as long as this army is in hand, he has the ability to protect the Ming Dynasty, and realize his ambition of "governing the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty, the Han and Tang Dynasties".

On the other hand, Zhu Di also feels a heavy responsibility, as the supreme commander of the army, he shoulders the expectations and heavy responsibilities of these good sons, as the world's first general, Zhu Di is very clear that the victory of the war not only depends on the number and equipment of the army, but also depends on the wisdom and courage of the commander, therefore, he must always remain calm and make the right decisions in order to lead the Ming army to victory, especially in the complex situation in the north of the country, the intelligence and logistics of the Ming army are facing great challenges, I can't be confused, otherwise there may be problems with the national fortunes of the Ming Dynasty.

In addition to these, last night's dream also gave Zhu Di a deep afterglow of loneliness, although there were countless loyal soldiers and ministers around him, but none of them could fully understand his inner thoughts and feelings.

However, Zhu Di also understands that as an emperor, he must learn to bear this loneliness, because this is his fate and responsibility.

Just when Zhu Di was silently thinking about his thoughts, the ministers also looked at the scene in front of them and were a little emotional.

"The military power is so far, who dares to be in this array!" Jin Youzi put down the brush and rubbed his hands that were red from the cold, and expressed such emotion at the marching army.

"Done?"

"Back to Your Majesty, I'm done!"

Because the Jinyi guard who went to Wara to listen to the news had already come back from a detour, so Zhu Di asked Jin Youzi to draft an edict to the Warat Ministry, and Jin Youzi wrote it directly by relying on the saddle, but unfortunately this weather is not only hard to use the brush, but also the person is too cold to finish writing, and the whole person is a little shivering.

In fact, Mo said that it was a human, that is, a war horse wrapped in cloth to prevent the horse's hooves from slipping, and at this time it was also shaking its body slightly to keep warm.

"Do you know the weather today?"

Zhu Di looked at Jin Youzi's thin clothes and smiled, found someone to get him a thick cotton coat to put on, and ordered someone to get him some hot water, so as not to fall ill here, the current medical conditions are poor, and Jin Youzi's physique is not strong, and if he falls ill, he may really die.

After completing the writing task, several Wenchen rode horses to follow the emperor to continue the march, and this march was not boring, Zhu Di is worthy of being a scout when he was young, and he is like a few treasures about the scenery in the north, and leaned over on the horse and grabbed a bunch of plants from the side, and gave the Wenchen who accompanied him to popularize science.

"This is sand reed, the root is white, the largest can take root two feet underground, the small one is about the same as a small ginseng, the smell is spicy and slightly bitter, it is not delicious, but it can be eaten, if the dry scouts can't find food, they don't rely on this thing to satisfy their hunger."

"Last night's snowstorm was a bit heavy, and the underside of the sand reeds was covered, so you should march along the footsteps of the army, not lean on the side of the road."

"Oops."

As soon as Zhu Di finished speaking, Yang Shiqi almost fell, and it turned out that the horse's hooves fell into a small pit.

Zhu Di signaled him not to act rashly, lest the horse be irritable after being injured, but instead took him off the horse and fell out of the way.

Then Zhu Di calmed the war horse, and the miraculous thing was that the war horse immediately quieted down.

Zhu Di squatted down, shaved the snow under the horse's hooves with his hands, and explained to the ministers.

"This is a sand rabbit den, and it is easy to fall into it because of the snow."

Soon Yang Shiqi's war horse was out of trouble, Zhu Di smiled, and asked the guards around him to pout the sand rabbit burrow, giving Yang Shiqi, Jin Youzi and others a long experience.

When the panicked sand rabbit was pulled out, Yang Shiqi and the others were amazed.

It is the size of a rat, but its head, eyes, and hair are like rabbits, only its paws and legs are like rats, and its tail is long, with short forelegs and long hind feet.

"Let it go."

As soon as the guard's hand was released, the little thing slipped away quickly,

"The sand rabbit is agile, jumps when it walks, and is as cunning as a rabbit, which dogs can't get."

"The so-called leaping rabbit in the poem, but this thing?" Yang Shiqi asked curiously.

Zhu Di patted the snow on his hands: "Who knows?" Anyway, the nomads in the steppe desert call it the sand rabbit. ”

After the small episode, the army continued to march, because the sudden snowstorm did not follow, so the impact on the march was not great, and when they came to the Yuqu River, Zhu Di was in a good mood, and asked people to find an angular stone to stand on the side of the road, and carved a stone tablet on it with an axe, named the Yuma River.

But as the army crossed the Yuma River, Zhu Di soon became serious, because the sentinels in front came with news that they seemed to have found the main force of the Tatar army.

(End of chapter)