Chapter 435: Xuzhou was knighted

The Battle of Xuzhou can be described as unprecedented, and it is also the largest war that Chen Cao has participated in until now, and this war also directly allowed the Ming Dynasty to gain a firm foothold again, of course, it is the premise that he is the new Ming Emperor.

On the 15th day of August in the first year of Shengwu, on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chen Cao inspected the participating troops on the great plain outside Xuzhou, and announced the early knighthood on the ruined city tower in Xuzhou.

According to the previous plan of him and Huang Chunyao, dozens of meritorious personnel will be canonized as Lord Ming in Xuzhou in advance.

"Fengtian carried the emperor, and the edict said:

.........

Canonized You Shiwei as a first-class Fengtian Yiyun Tui Cheng Xuanli Yulin Marquis...

......”

The knighthood lasted for a total of two and a half hours, nearly five hours, and thirty-six marquis were canonized first, namely:

Hereditary replacements of the first class Yulin Hou You Shiwei, Jianyang Hou Ning Guoxing, Chengyang Hou Hu Yanqing, Nanhai Hou Chen Yongsu, Beihai Hou Chen Maoxiu, Huaiyang Hou Cao Wenzhao, Laizhou Hou Qi Xianyun, Huai'an Hou Lou Xingye, Hejian Hou Huang Degong, Zhenhai Hou Pang Zhifan, Donghai Hou Deng Guang, Anqing Hou Wanqing;

The next generation descends from the second class to Cao Xiang, Hou Yan Chun of Tongcheng, Zhang Ting, Hou Zhang Ting of Anlu, Hou Kang Rate of Guangping, Liu Xiang of Yongping, Liu Shouwen of Yanzhou, Hou Xin Laosan of Qingzhou, Han Xianchu of Nanyang, Li Xiukuan of Runing, Pang Zhihuan of Zhending, Zhang Yingwu of Dingyang, Hou Bei Tianhua of Ruzhou, Gao Qingnian of Haifeng, Chen Pingzhong of Anzhong, Hou Su of Funing, Jiang Danian, Hou of Taizhou, Jin and Zheng of Lin'an;

Liujue's third-class Dongchang Hou Li Xingye, Shunyi Hou Qian Qianyi, Dong'an Hou Xu Fuyuan, Xi'an Hou Zhou Lixun, Yanzhou Hou Ke Guangxian, Dezhou Hou Liu Liangzuo, Lijiang Hou Liu Zeqing;

There are also three earls, namely Li Xuanjun, a first-class Gaoyou Bo, Chen Jiming, a second-class Shuyang Bo, and Li Yan, a second-class Suzhou Bo;

There are two barons, namely the first baron Liu Shun and the second baron Chong Junxi.

It is clear to everyone that most of the officers who were knighted this time were division-level generals, as well as several brigade-level commanders, three civilian officials, and a combatant like Li Xuanjun, who had made great contributions in Gaoyou.

There was not a single one of the rest of the commanders at the army level or higher, which also made those who had doubts understand that these people who were obviously close associates of the emperor would definitely not be knighted until the final victory of the Tartars was eliminated, and the knighthood must be very high.

The dozens of people in the first batch of knights were all excited, no matter how many titles they had, at least they had a name, and they also calmed the minds of most people.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, Chen Cao was holding a meeting with everyone in the back hall, and there were not many people in attendance, only Zhao Xin, Huang Chunyao, Xu Fuyuan and Song Che.

"What does Yunsheng think?"

Huang Chunyao looked up at Chen Cao and said, "Back to Your Majesty, the minister thinks it's okay." ”

Song Che also clenched his fists and said: "It is a big plan to clear the south of the Yellow River and completely eliminate the threat on the Central Plains, and when Xu Da went on a northern expedition, it was also a good time for Emperor Taizu to calm the south." ”

Xu Fuyuan also nodded: "Go back to Nanjing to recuperate first, the troops have been fighting for a long time, and they also need to rest and recuperate, and it is not inappropriate for Your Majesty to recover Henan, Xuzhou is of course a great thing as a choke point into Shandong, but Your Majesty, the minister has something to worry about; ”

Xu Fuyuan frowned and said: "The Northern Expedition is now in my hands, but we must be careful to avoid the Tartars from repeating the path of the Northern Yuan." ”

Everyone knows that when Xu Da hit Dadu, Emperor Yuan Shun had fled to Mobei, which also made Chengzu conquer Mobei for five times, and the Yuan army could not be destroyed for a long time, which also laid the groundwork for the rise of Wara.

"According to Jinyiwei, after Huang Taiji conquered Mongolia, he married with the Horqin Department, if the Tartars failed to fight with us and fled to Mongolia, our army would be quite troublesome to pursue, on the contrary, if they ran to Liaodong, there would be some said."

Chen Cao nodded and said: "I already have a complete battle plan, combined with Xu Fuyuan's worries, it can be divided into three lines of operations, first, after recovering Luoyang, Fengyang and other places, I ordered Hong Chengchou to enter Shanxi from Shaanxi, attack Shanxi and Gansu, and enter Hebei from the first line of Bauhinia Pass after completing the plan; Second, Shi Xiu stayed in Xuzhou to prepare various armies, and entered Shandong from Xuzhou as a frontal battlefield, and third, landed from Lushun by sea, and the foot soldiers went deep into the land of Liaodong and surrounded it from the inside. ”

Huang Chunyao arched his hand: "Your Majesty, if the Tartars can't hold Beijing City after all, and the back road is cut off by us, they will really retreat to Mongolia, once they enter the land of Mobei, they are all cavalry, the sky is high and the birds can fly, and it is very difficult to pursue." ”

Chen Cao nodded, savored Huang Chunyao's words, and then said: "Mongolia is not a piece of the board, at least not the Chahar Department where Lin Dan Khan is located. ”

Zhao Xindao: "Lin Dan Khan in order to preserve the vitality of the tribe fled to Qinghai, according to the return of Jinyiwei, the Chahar Department in Qinghai grazing, at the beginning of the year there were Tartar people went to Qinghai to find, but in mid-June this year, Lin Dan Khan died violently in the sweat tent, I heard that he died of smallpox. ”

"Who is the current Great Khan?"

"The current Mongol Great Khan is Lin Dan Khan's eldest son, Ezhe."

Chen Cao touched his chin and looked at Huang Chunyao and frowned: "Does Yunsheng have any ideas?" ”

Huang Chun's dazzling eyes rolled, and after a while, he said: "The minister has a plan, Lin Dan Khan was quite deferential to the Chongzhen Dynasty during his lifetime, but because of the battle of Salhu, my Ming army lost the trust of the Mongols, Your Majesty can send someone to contact Ezhe, the new Great Khan, I believe that with the victory of Xuzhou in front, Ezhe should also weigh whether he can stop our Ming army before considering surrendering to the Tartars." ”

Xu Fuyuan interjected: "Although Lin Dan Khan is the Mongolian Khan on the surface, after all, he has this name, and it is also a good gimmick after Ezhe succeeds him, otherwise the Tartars will not go thousands of miles to Qinghai to find them, Horqin and Bahrain cannot represent the whole of Mongolia, and Ezhe's Chahar Department is the Great Khan of the Mongols, with them, it is like having an eagle flying in the sky." ”

"Shi Xiu, what do you think?" Chen Cao looked at Song Che.

Song Che thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Mr. Huang's words are reasonable, united Chahar, plus You Shiwei's cavalry, can enter Mongolia from Shanxi, and from Mongolia to the lair of Horqin and Bahrain, as long as the Tartars' westward escape is blocked in the west, then Huang Taiji can only withdraw from Shanhaiguan once he fails in Beijing, and the troops landing in Lushun can completely intercept the Tartars as long as they arrive in the area of Xiping Fort before Huang Taiji flees north to Guangning." ”

Several people nodded, and Huang Chunyao said again: "Your Majesty, the minister heard from Lord Zhao that the Japanese side is making good progress, and the Japanese invaders made a lot of trouble in the southeast back then, and their infantry fought particularly fiercely," Huang Chunyao looked at Chen Cao in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the Japanese army can do some things that our army can't do." ”

Chen Cao gasped, he also suddenly understood what Huang Chunyao meant, it was really the point that the gentleman could not be a woman's benevolence: "Sure enough, it is a life-killing scholar, Yunsheng, you reminded me, Zhao Xin..."

"The Emperor..."

"Spread my will to Fu Yingxing, so that no matter what means he uses, I will have an army of at least 10,000 or more Japanese warriors to arrive in Shanghai within three months."

"Yes, the minister will do it immediately."

At the end of the meeting, Chen Cao gave the order to return to Nanjing.

It's just that only a group of senior civil officials and military generals returned to Nanjing, the Dingwu Army and the assembled Shenwu Army stayed in Xuzhou, and the Longwu Army also went to Xuzhou to gather after the failure of the pursuit of Haizhou, Chen Cao left Song Che to guard Xuzhou, and Qin Feng conquered the Generalissimo of Peking University, and ruled everyone, regardless of whether those people had titles or not.

After 12 days of sailing, Chen Cao finally arrived at the mouth of the Longjiang River in early September, where he was greeted with great honor.

Zhang Fengnian, the commander of the Nanjing garrison, had a serious face, and after saluting, he hugged his fists and said: "The minister is worthy of His Majesty's entrustment." ”

Chen Cao snorted coldly and made a show, and then asked Zhang Fengnian to lead the way back, after entering Nanjing, he did not enter the city directly, but went to the Zhongshan Mausoleum in the eastern outer city to pay tribute to Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, and told Zhu Yuanzhang the news of Xuzhou's victory.

Xiaolingwei not far from Zhongshan, because after the reconstruction of Xiaolingwei, the troops guarding the tomb of Emperor Taizu were completely abolished, Chen Cao ordered the Ministry of Engineering to concentrate on the construction of the residence of the king of the Zhu family on the basis of the original radius of Xiaolingwei, and the scale was according to the 'Ten Princes' Mansion in Beijing, the vassal king of the Zhu family, under his Chen's court, what title is to build as much as the palace, all the palaces are lined up, each palace is thirty steps away, and the people of Liangmin entered, and formed the 'Xiaoling Town', so that these princes and the people can integrate into it.

Lu Wangfu is also among them, when Chen Cao stepped into Lu Wangfu, everyone knelt in front of the wall to greet him, and the convicted Zhu Shouhong was kept alone by Jinyiwei in a house in the palace.

Xu Kaixian accompanied him and said, "Emperor, Zhu Shouhong has not been mentally normal these days. ”

Chen Cao sneered, and then looked at the relatives of the Lu Wangfu who were kneeling in front of him: "Emperor Chengzu was even willing to put in his mouth in order to avoid trouble, what about him?" ”

After speaking, Chen Cao saw two familiar faces among the people kneeling to greet him, with abnormal beauty, which made him excited, one was Zhu Shouhong's concubine Kong, and the other was Zhu Weixi, the county lord who had an affair with the king of Laiyang County.

These two women have been dealt with by Chen Cao, and now after a long time, it is really very flavorful, Zhao Xin stood aside and followed Chen Cao's gaze and found these two people, and after remembering the faces of the two women in his heart, he had a plan.

With Zhao Xin's cough, Chen Cao came back to his senses, glanced at Zhao Xin, and then said coldly: "Bring Zhu Shouhong to see me." ”

Chen Cao sat in the lobby, Zhu Shouhong's family members all stood outside the lobby at the moment and waited, not long after, the brocade guard escorted Zhu Shouhong to the lobby, at the moment of seeing Chen Cao, Zhu Shouhong ran a few steps quickly, and when Zhao Xin was about to draw a knife, he saw Zhu Shouhong's fat body kneeling down five steps in front of Chen Cao.

With a howl and crying, Zhu Shouhong burst into tears: "Your Majesty..."