Daming: From the end of Hongwu

Chapter 314 Negotiate, seek peace, beg for peace!
In Lingbi City, just when the Yan army had just rested and was about to go south, the imperial court hurriedly sent a minister to discuss peace and hurried to Lingbi.

The court was really frightened.

This time, the people negotiating peace were no longer as arrogant as before, or tried to teach Zhu Di some principles of being a minister.

Become like a grandson.

In front of Zhu Di, Zhen Wu and other generals, he confessed that the fault was directly at the court, and the emperor has already discerned right from wrong. He will not only pardon all the crimes committed by the soldiers of the Yan army, but also restore Zhu Di's title. I only hope that Zhu Di In the morning, the class teacher will return to Peiping.

The words fell.

Zhen Wu and Zhu Neng looked at each other and shook their heads amusedly and helplessly.

Zhu Yunqi is hopeless.

What the hell is restoring the prince?What the hell is forgiveness of crimes.

If you want them to go back, why don't you want to pay for it at all.

The person negotiating peace still didn't stop talking, and he kept talking, and he had a good memory. He recited all the letters that Zhu Di gave to Zhu Yunqi when he first raised his army.

What did Zhu Di and the emperor promise at the beginning that as long as the emperor spared the lives of the soldiers of the Yan army, restored his lord, and stopped embarrassing the king of Zhou and others, Zhu Di would take the initiative to stop fighting. Army officers and soldiers brought back to Peiping as soon as possible.

Zhu Di glanced at the peace negotiators with a strange expression.

He did say those words.

At that time, he wasn't sure if he could get out of the territory of Hebei, so he couldn't admit it.

But who would have thought that he wanted to be a watchdog for the imperial court, but the imperial court didn't want it. Now that he has hit Lingbi and let him go back, whoever is stupid will choose to go back.

Zhu Di didn't pay any attention to these things, and said, "I just want to know how the emperor dealt with Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai and others."

The person negotiating the peace quickly said: "It has been demoted, it has been demoted, one has been demoted to Guangde Prefecture, and the other has been demoted to Suzhou. The emperor has recognized their true colors."

"Not killed." Zhu Di pouted and said.

If Zhu Yunqi was ruthless enough to directly kill the last batch, he really didn't know whether he should continue to go south, who would have thought that Zhu Yunqi didn't even have such a bit of ruthlessness.

Zhen Wu couldn't help but said at this moment: "Is this a relegation? They are still wandering around the capital. Isn't it just a matter of recruiting soldiers from the southeast? Do you think we are stupid?"

Zhu Di and the others thought about the locations of Guangde and Suzhou for a while, and instantly understood.

The person negotiating the peace was taken aback for a moment, and then said anxiously: "No, absolutely not. When I left Beijing, the emperor himself promised me."

The words fell.

Zhen Wu couldn't help shaking his head.

The person negotiating peace is simply a fool.

Zhu Di didn't want to talk any more with the person negotiating peace, so he waved his hand and asked someone to put him in custody, and waited until he could no longer see the person negotiating peace, then Zhu Di picked up the letter that Zhu Yunqi had given him, and he It was torn apart in front of the generals, and then looked up at the crowd.

"Everyone, I discussed before that after capturing Xuzhou, I would go south with all my strength to conquer Suzhou, Fengyang, reach Chuzhou and Hezhou, and then cross the river to seek the capital. But now I have a bolder idea."

Zhen Wu and other generals all looked at Zhu Di.

Zhu Di organized his language and said: "I want to drive directly from Sizhou, Xuyi, and Tianchang to Yangzhou, cross the river and attack the capital."

The generals pondered the difference between these two marching routes in their minds for a while.

The first one is relatively conservative, because this route is farther away from Huai'an, so there is no need to worry too much about Mei Yin from Huai'an catching up with them, but the second one is much more risky, because this route is too close to Huai'an Even Sizhou, Xuyi and other places are only separated from Huai'an by Hongze Lake. Even if they all go well and reach the city of Yangzhou like a broken bamboo, the distance between Yangzhou and Huai'an is not too far.

Once Mei Yin makes a move, it is likely to plunge them into a hard fight.

All the generals looked at Zhu Di in puzzlement for a moment, not understanding why Zhu Di wanted to do this.

Zhu Di explained: "Since we launched our troops in Jinan, Mei Yin has not moved. Although I don't know the reason, I still dare to bet that he will not make any moves after that. In addition, Yangzhou has always been an important city in the country. If Yangzhou Once broken, the northern and southern armies will lose their morale, and they will win without fighting. Of course, there is the most important point, that is, since we want to raid the capital this time, the sooner we can reach the capital, the better. You can think about it before deciding Whether it is Fengyang or Chuzhou, it is not easy to conquer the route, and I don't want to do more military operations in Fengyang, but if we drive Yangzhou for a long time, there will be no heavy city to stop us along the way. If you go within, you must go to the city of Yangzhou."

After finishing speaking, Zhu Di looked around at the generals: "Everyone, if Mei Yin is hostile, we have to choose a safe route, but now that Mei Yin is not hostile, why can't we be more courageous, and why don't we dare to take a gamble? Are you afraid that after we reach the city of Yangzhou, we will not be able to break through Yangzhou?"

After Zhen Wu heard these words, he looked up at Zhu Di and said, "Your Highness, Zhen Wu supports His Highness's decision."

Soldiers are very fast.

As long as they're fast enough, there's really nothing to worry about.

What's more, Zhen Wu has a high probability to be sure that Mei Yin will not move.

After Zhang Yuzhuneng and the others came to their senses, they also said one by one: "Your Highness, drive Yangzhou for a long time. Even if Mei Yin makes some moves, we can capture Yangzhou before Mei Yin catches up with us, so as to stop Mei Yin." Yin."

"it is good."

Zhu Di stood up and said forcefully: "In this case, all the generals will march south."

Zhen Wu and the others agreed in unison.

……

In May, when the Yan army arrived in Sizhou, Zhou Jingchu, the guard general, had no resistance and directly surrendered the city.

Zhu Di took half a day to visit the ancestral mausoleum with Zhu Gaoxu and Zhen Wu. Zhu Di was a little apprehensive along the way, but Zhen Wu knew in his heart that even though Zhu Di was always resolute on the outside, he was never afraid of life and death on the battlefield, but He rebelled and robbed his nephew of the world, and he felt somewhat ashamed of not being able to face his ancestors.

Presumably this is partly the reason why he wanted to avoid Fengyang.

Probably because I dare not go to the imperial mausoleum first, I plan to complain to my ancestors first, and then talk about other things.

Sure enough, it was as expected by Zhen Wu.

As soon as Zhu Di arrived at the ancestral mausoleum, he knelt down and cried out of grievance: "The ancestors are above you, and you must clearly observe the grievances of the younger generations. I was murdered by treacherous officials in the court, and I almost suffered misfortune several times. Fortunately, thanks to the protection of my ancestors, I was able to escape today." Worshiping at the mausoleum! I didn't want soldiers to resist, but it was all because of that treacherous official..."

Zhen Wu knelt behind Zhu Di, listening to Zhu Di's grievances from the beginning to the end in a very speechless manner, and then he brought out the matter of King Zhou, King Xiang and others, and told the ancestors of the Zhu family, ruthlessly He put some eye drops on Zhu Yunwen ruthlessly.

In the end, Zhu Di cried and said: "My ancestors are in heaven, please help me to explain to my father, be sure to persuade my father, don't let him get angry, you see, I put my son and son-in-law I brought them all, so that you can all be happy too.”

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhen Wu rushed to meet.

After working for a while, Zhu Di came out with Zhen Wu and Zhu Gaoxu.

When the folks and elders at the mausoleum heard that Zhu Di had come here, they all came out to see each other. Zhu Di thanked them for guarding the ancestral mausoleum, generously gave them a sum of wine and meat, and expressed his condolences for a while before letting them go.

After the matter was over, the Yan army immediately marched again and captured Xuyi on the second day. After that, Zhu Di sent Wu Yu to Yangzhou to persuade him to surrender, and then the army went straight to Tianchang.

Wu Yu and Wang Li, the guard of Yangzhou City, already had quite an old relationship, and they had secretly contacted each other before, so they were not worried about this trip.

After he left the army formation, he rode fast and arrived at the city of Yangzhou within a few days.

And Wang Li, the guard of Yangzhou City, had planned to surrender to Wu Yu in the previous contact, but he didn't expect the matter to be revealed. Wang Bin, the supervisor of the censor, found out his plan, and then Wang Bin contacted the commander Chong Gang and caught him by surprise. He took Wang Li Lei Ting down and put him in the big prison.

When Wu Yu inquired about this situation, he was a little dazed.

He pointed at Wang Li to do important things, why was Wang Li sent to prison just as soon as he arrived.

Wu Yu knew that King Yan's army could not be stopped. After thinking about it for a while, he gritted his teeth and asked someone to shoot a letter into the city, saying that anyone who kidnaps Wang Bin and surrenders will be awarded a third-rank official and rewarded ten thousand coins.

Wang Li's younger brother had been planning to save Wang Li, so he immediately borrowed the generous reward from Feishu to contact two thousand households, and spent a lot of money to buy off the family members of the people around Wang Bin. Wang Bin was released, and Wang Li was released.

After Wang Li came out of the prison, he immediately welcomed Wu Yu and others into Yangzhou City, and then contacted the old department. After some fighting and cleaning, he firmly held Yangzhou City in his hands.

At this time, the Yan army had just captured Tianchang.

Wang Li, Wu Yu and others greeted Tianchang directly, and dedicated the whole beard and tail of Yangzhou City to Zhu Di.

Zhen Wu and other generals were overjoyed.

Yangzhou, the only important city along the way, unexpectedly got here without any effort, it was like God's help.

But when it comes to the specific reasons, Zhen Wu and the others understand somewhat.

Because the momentum of the Yan army has changed, they defeated the army of the imperial court several times, and hit here all the way like lightning, how could others not think about their own way out.

At the end of May, when the Yan army came to Yangzhou City, Zhu Di ordered the generals to attack Gaoyou, Tongzhou, Taizhou and other cities, and ordered the generals to gather boats and prepare to cross the river.

In the cities of Gaoyou, Tongzhou, and Taizhou, where the Yan army's soldiers arrived at the peak, all the guards surrendered without any resistance.

After just a few days, countless boats lined up on the Yangtze River, waiting for the Yan army to cross the river.

This direct drive to Yangzhou took less than a month. The speed of the march, the sharpness of the soldiers, and the attitude of the cities to surrender made the capital immediately feel a breathless pressure, as if the entire capital knew clearly Feel the sharp breath of war.

This scene is really dark clouds overwhelming the city.

Zhu Yunwen in the palace had long since lost the vigor and vigor he had when he first ascended the throne. His mask of gentleness and elegance on the surface was completely shattered, and he became irritable, sensitive, and frightened.

Every day when he wakes up these few days, the first thing he does is to ask where Yan Jun is, hoping that a miracle will block the way of Yan Jun.

But the answers he got every day made him feel ashamed.

Yan Jun's advancing speed is unbelievable.

Zhu Yunqi had to send out one after another, people he trusted to recruit soldiers, and sent envoys everywhere to recruit the king's soldiers, but no good news came back for several days.

As for the officials in the court, under such circumstances, they all began to undisguisedly seek measures for their own safety, and all of them began to draw clear ties with Fang Xiaoru, Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, Lian Zining and others.

Even though Zhu Yunwen begged all the ministers to recommend good generals to defend the city, for the sake of their own safety, none of the ministers came forward to make a recommendation.

When the court was over, Zhu Yunxuan sprinkled a fire in the study, took Fang Xiaoru's hand who was still in the capital, and said in a sobbing voice: "At this critical moment, all the ministers are all timid and fearful. Knowing that Master Fang has great talents and virtues, please don't shirk, Master Fang, and teach me."

Fang Xiaoru said: "Your Majesty, don't want to be like this. I am trusted and favored by Your Majesty, and I will be loyal to Your Majesty. However, Your Majesty, please let me think about it a little bit."

Zhu Yunxuan nodded repeatedly, and he looked straight at Fang Xiaoru, waiting for Fang Xiaoru to come up with a solution.

Soon.

Fang Xiaoru said: "Your Majesty, the situation is quite urgent now, and we still need to plan to slow down the situation first. Why don't we send envoys to seek peace and cede some land to the King of Yan. This will definitely delay it for a while, until our southeast soldiers Finally, supplemented by the Yangtze River natural moat, and then compete, the outcome is yet to be known."

Zhu Yunwen was at a loss at the moment, he had an idea and took it as a life-saving straw, and immediately nodded and followed it.

It's just that Zhu Yunwen said worriedly: "The last time I sent an envoy, the King of Yan did not pretend to be arrogant. Now that I send an envoy again, will the King of Yan listen? Who should be condemned as an envoy?"

Fang Xiaoru thought for a while and said: "You can condemn the royal family and move them with family affection. Presumably King Yan would not dare to completely disregard family friendship."

Move it with family affection?
In Zhu Yunwen's ears, these words were inexplicably mocking.

However, Zhu Yunqi had no other choice, he nodded in agreement with Fang Xiaoru's suggestion, but his heart became more and more bitter.

If someone from the royal family goes to ask for peace, it can only be someone from Zhu Di's generation, and it is best to have some friendship with Zhu Di, so that they can talk, but there is no such candidate for him.

Anyone who should be offended is offended, and who will help him.

Zhu Yunwen thought for a long time, and finally thought of someone.

Princess Qingcheng.

He offended this person, but he didn't think it was too cruel.

Speaking of which, Princess Qingcheng is the daughter of Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest brother, that is, Zhu Yuanzhang's niece, and Zhu Yuanzhang is a person who attaches great importance to family concepts. After he became emperor, he made his only two nieces princesses.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's concept, as long as he has his daughter, he must have his niece. He and his elder brother are blood brothers, so there is no reason for his niece to be wronged, but this is somewhat inappropriate.

So from the fourth year of Hongwu, officials from the Ministry of Rites kept writing letters asking Zhu Yuanzhang to demote the two nieces to princesses.

So many of his daughters are princesses, what happened to the two?
Besides, he only has these two nieces, not many.

Because of this, Zhu Yuanzhang often got angry with the officials, so the two nieces were not very close to Zhu Yuanzhang. When they were young, they often went to the palace to talk to Empress Ma, so Princess Qingcheng, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Di were also quite close.

I don’t want to mention what other people think of this matter, but in the hearts of the princesses of Qingcheng, what Zhu Yuanzhang did was authentic. Even if Zhu Yuanzhang couldn’t stand the nagging from the Ministry of Rites later, he only cut their salaries, and the title of princess was still retained. .

But no one expected that after the grandson Zhu Yunqi came to power, he would directly demote the two of them to princesses.

He is not soft on what his grandfather refuses to do life and death.

This is outrageous to say.

After all, Princess Qingcheng and the others are just two women, and they are still quite young women. How many years can they have a good life, and how many years can they be princesses?
As for cutting the title?
I don't know what's going on in Zhu Yunwen's mind.

At this time, Zhu Yunwen felt ashamed to think of Princess Qingcheng.

Knowing that he was losing face, Zhu Yunwen used the name of Empress Dowager Lu to send someone to inform Princess Qingcheng to go to the Yan Army to seek peace. When Princess Qingcheng received the order, she instinctively didn't want to go, but there was no other way. She didn't dare to disobey her order, so she had no choice but to go to Yangzhou sullenly.

……

(End of this chapter)