Follow Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the country

Chapter 97 Zhu Yuanzhang praised Xu Da, while Guo Zixing praised Zhang Cheng
  At this time, the Waliang fortress was closed, and Shi Tai, who participated in politics, opened his mouth wide and did not close it for a long time.

He never thought that the Fire Gunmen could be so effective after being organized.

And he soon guessed the possible reasons for this, so he couldn't help but muttered: "What kind of firearms are these demon thieves using?"

Because Qinglu was too afraid of death, he ran back so fast that his soldiers soon became discouraged and began to turn around and run into the city. Even the cavalry supervising the battle behind him were greatly affected by this, and they did not react for a long time. .

"Don't close the city gate!"

"Don't close the city gate!"

Many Yuan soldiers running in front were still shouting to their comrades at the city gate. Some cavalry even brutally hacked and killed the defending officers and soldiers who wanted to close the city.

On the rebel side.

Tang He, Hua Yun and Mao Guang were also shocked.

The effect of the cannons fired in a row was also an eye-opener for them.

"According to Mr. Zhang's order, intercept them and don't let them retreat easily!"

Hua Yun couldn't help but shout to Mao Guang behind him, and then he clamped the horse's belly tightly and led his horse army to kill it first.

Mao Guang reacted and led his cavalry troops to kill him.

moment.

Here Shitai suddenly saw two rebel cavalry teams under the city, like two sharp blades, slashing at the Yuan soldiers under Qinglu's retreat in panic, and he couldn't help but immediately shouted:
  "Pull up the drawbridge!"

"Hurry up and pull up the suspension bridge!"

And at this time.

Under the city gate.

Because there were too many Yuan soldiers running back, the area around the city gate gradually became blocked.

Therefore, even if Hua Yun and other rebel horsemen fought hard to kill, they could not get a few steps into the city gate. Instead, they were squeezed back and forth by the crowd, so that the horses could not stand firmly.

From time to time, the horse would lift its foot and step on someone, causing the rebel on its back to roll off the horse due to imbalance.

"Dismount and fight on foot!"

"Better to die in battle than to die of starvation!"

"Anyway, death will not stop the incense! Rush in with me!"

Seeing this, Hua Yun simply dismounted his horse first, slashed the Yuan soldiers in front with his knife, and shouted loudly to the rebels beside him.

The rebel cavalry troops nearby felt that this was reasonable after hearing this, so they all followed suit and dismounted to fight on foot. They were extremely brave and soon killed the front line with blood and piles of corpses. They also followed Hua Yun and climbed through the mountain of people to the suspension bridge. side.

Hua Yun, who was covered in blood, was the best at killing and successfully led the rebel cavalry into the Yuan army, cutting the Yuan army into two parts. Even the Yuan army cavalry supervising the battle were left outside.

Hua Yun also personally cut the ropes of the suspension bridge and rushed into the city gate first, followed by Mao Guang and other rebels.

Simultaneously.

"Tear down the female wall and fight your way out!"

On the Shenji Camp side, Zhang Cheng saw that the Yuan army cavalry could no longer counterattack and that his side had successfully cut off the possibility of Yuan soldiers coming out of the city, so he issued new orders.

So, Geng Bingwen, who happened to be in the first row, led his team's fire gunners and other fire gun teams in the first row to push down the parapet, crossed the trench, and began to march, lining up to shoot other Yuan soldiers. Come.

The soldiers of the Yuan Dynasty were further frightened. Many of them dropped their weapons and ran away, and some even knelt down and begged for mercy.

Qinglu looked around in confusion. Now he only felt that there were rebels everywhere. In order to prevent himself from being shot by the rebels because he was on horseback, he simply chose to dismount.

result.

As soon as he got off his horse, he was pushed to the ground by Yuan soldiers who retreated from behind. Then he was trampled by many feet, and in the end he was dying.

Zhang Cheng was very happy when he saw that the Yuan soldiers had been defeated and Hua Yun and others had even entered the city. He hurriedly led Tang He's infantry archers across the trench, stepped forward, and forced Tang He and others to surrender. After a group of Yuan soldiers, they saw Qinglu, a dying official of the Yuan Dynasty, on the ground.

"Who are you?"

Zhang Cheng asked.

"Mr. Qian Qinglu."

"Who's here?"

Qinglu also glanced at him, and after answering, he asked in a weak breath.

"I, Zhang Cheng."

Zhang Cheng replied.

After hearing this, Qinglu closed his eyes and sighed: "So it's you, why are you a thief!"

"I'm not a thief."

Zhang Cheng replied with a smile.

As soon as Zhang Cheng finished speaking, Qinglu couldn't help but raise his finger and point at him: "伱!"

The words are not finished yet.

Qinglu died.

And this time.

Hua Yun and Mao Guang have led their cavalry troops into Ma Liang Fort.

Seeing this, the Tsing Yi Army, the landlord's armed force in the city, collapsed.

"Run quickly, the city is broken!"

"Run quickly, our monthly rations are only five dou. Since the city is destroyed, why should we sacrifice our lives!"

Many veterans of the Tsing Yi Army shouted loudly at their fellow villagers.

Seeing this, Shi Tai was very desperate and couldn't help shouting: "God, why are you helping the thief!"

Subsequently.

Shitai directly chose to jump from the city gate.

boom!
  Zhang Cheng heard the sound and looked over, only to see that Shi Tai had fallen so hard that his brains had burst.

Let’s talk.

At present, because a Yuan army led by Tuotuo is about to encircle Liuhe.

Therefore, the officials sent here by the Yuan Ting are basically relatively reliable in Tuotuo's eyes, and there will also be some who are quite loyal to the Yuan Ting and do not hesitate to die.

Shitai is just one of the representatives.

Zhang Cheng, who originally wanted to reestablish Huayi rituals, had no sympathy for this, and only told Qi Xiang: "This man refused to abandon the dark and turn to the light until his death. He was stubborn. Even if he jumped from the city to his death, he would also make the craftsmen in the army , carve a kneeling image of him, and divide his body among the people."

Qi Xiang raised his hand and said yes.

After Zhang Cheng said this, he ordered Tang He: "Your troops will enter the city immediately to maintain order, just like when we entered Chuzhou City before. Based on the successful experience in Chuzhou, I gave you three major requirements and eight points of attention before. , Violators will be shot without mercy!" Tang He said yes, then led his people into the city, grabbed a horse, and rode after Zhu Wenzheng and others: "Mr. Zhang has an order, keep it safe Military discipline, according to the successful experience in Chuzhou, prepare for the opportunity to raid homes in the future, don't lose big for small things!"

Zhu Wenzheng and others clasped their fists and said yes, which really emphasized the military discipline of the Shenji Battalion again.

Hua Yun and Mao Guang had already captured the Yuan Ting government office and official warehouse here. After that, they met Tang He and others, and learned about Zhang Cheng's instructions from Tang He.

Although Mao Guang had no experience in fighting Chuzhou with Zhang Cheng, he, like Zhu Wenzheng and others, also heard about and learned from Chuzhou's experience on the march, and he knew what to do.

After Zhang Cheng entered the Wuliang Base, he asked Huayun to send cavalry back to tell Zhu Yuanzhang in Chuzhou that his troops had captured the Wuliang Base.
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  By the way, after Zhang Cheng left Chuzhou, Zhu Yuanzhang accompanied Guo Zixing to visit the warehouses of the Zhizhou Yamen and the General Manager's Office.

Li Mengeng, Ren Zhigong and others also accompanied Guo Zixing.

When Guo Zixing saw the large amount of grain and gold and silver stored in the warehouse, he was stunned on the spot just like Zhu Yuanzhang back then.

Although he, Guo Zixing, was also a local powerful person.

But a local tycoon like him is not considered a super-large landowner, but a large landowner among the common people. The gap between rich and poor in this era is already very large, so when he sees the wealth obtained after confiscating the powerful bureaucrats, he will still be confused. Was stunned.

"How come there are so many?"

Guo Zixing asked in astonishment.

Zhu Yuanzhang replied: "Back to my father, these are all the proceeds from the house raid! There are still relatively few goods in the official warehouses, and many of them are even empty. On the contrary, when the house was ransacked, a lot of goods were stolen, so much so that the warehouses were empty." They couldn’t even fill it, so we had to build a new warehouse.”

After hearing what Zhu Yuanzhang said, Guo Zixing said: "It seems that it is better to find a reason to raid the homes of those bureaucrats and gentry than to accept their donations. After all, their wealth is indeed unimaginable even if I don't see it with my own eyes. My father has always been I thought that the most they could do was to make a wealthy family like my father richer and serve as more maids."

"That's what my father said."

"Because of this, Mr. Zhang suggested that after the capture of Chuzhou, military discipline should be maintained and the people should not be robbed. Instead, order should be straightened out immediately to find opportunities to raid homes."

Zhu Yuanzhang replied.

Guo Zixing nodded: "This Mr. Zhang is truly a rebel and has no selfish motives!"

talking.

Guo Zixing said again: "Yuanzhang, take my father to see your newly trained soldiers and horses."

Zhu Yuanzhang said yes.

then.

Guo Zixing arrived at the school accompanied by Zhu Yuanzhang and others.

More than 30,000 Zhu Yuanzhang's expanded troops also arrived here one after another at this time, and stood in front of Guo Zixing in an orderly manner.

Zhu Yuanzhang then asked people to give orders and command these soldiers and horses to perform array warfare according to regulations.

Guo Zixing looked at the more than 30,000 officers and soldiers who were neatly ordered. He was very excited and said with a smile: "The army is neat and tidy. It can be seen that it is well-trained. Yuan Zhang, you have always been good at leading troops."

"My dear father, this is not Yuan Zhang's fault, but Xu Da's fault."

Zhu Yuanzhang intended to give credit to others, so he replied at this time.

Xu Da, who was following Zhu Yuanzhang, couldn't help but look slightly moved after hearing this.

Guo Zixing smiled and patted Xu Da on the shoulder.

Li Mengeng sighed slightly when he saw this.

Therefore, when Guo Zixing came back from the military parade, he asked Li Menggeng: "Why are you sighing?"

"Commander!"

"I'm humble because I feel that these 30,000 soldiers and horses have strict orders, and although General Manager Zhu and Xu Zhenfu have trained them well, it is a pity that these 30,000 soldiers and horses cannot be unified with the commander's original orders. I'm afraid It’s still hard to compete in the world.”

"Therefore, humble people have to sigh."

Li Menggeng answered.

Guo Zixing became silent after hearing this.

Seeing Guo Zixing's expression, Li Mengeng also knew that Guo Zixing must have returned from seeing the goods in the warehouse and the military parade. He was probably also worried that Zhu Yuanzhang's men were too powerful to check and balance, so he fell silent after he said this.

to this end.

Li Menggeng decided to strike while the iron was hot and continued: "Commander, if you want to conquer the world, you must always give orders to unify the world and make the top and bottom the same. Although Manager Zhu is loyal to you now, there is no guarantee that the people under him will not have evil thoughts, and Chen Qiao Zhixin, so the commander-in-chief must not be unprepared. This will not only prevent you and Manager Zhu from having any emotional rift due to their inability to check and balance each other, but also prevent the people below from always having inappropriate thoughts."

Because Zhu Yuanzhang had previously blocked his attempts to get rid of Zhu Yuanzhang with Guo Zixing's help, Li Menggeng did not dare to directly suggest Guo Zixing to get rid of Zhu Yuanzhang in front of Guo Zixing, so he could only suggest that Guo Zixing guard against Zhu Yuanzhang.

"How to protect yourself?"

At this time, Guo Zixing heard that Li Mengeng just asked him to guard against Zhu Yuanzhang, so he was not so resistant, and even felt that it was what he should do at this time.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang's current strength is indeed much stronger than that of his sons and his wife's brother Zhang Tianyou, and is even stronger than his own direct soldiers in general.

Therefore, even if Guo Zixing is relieved about Zhu Yuanzhang, he is indeed worried about Zhu Yuanzhang's direct relatives.

After all, there are countless such examples throughout history.

Guo Zixing is also worried that when he is gone, the power of his Guo family will be completely annexed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and he will not even be able to protect his descendants.

Although Guo Zixing now needs Zhu Yuanzhang's assistance, he also admits that it is also important to prevent Zhu Yuanzhang from being too powerful and unable to be checked.

Li Menggeng was overjoyed when he saw Guo Zixing taking the initiative to ask, so he took the initiative to answer: "Commander, I have three strategies."

"What three strategies?"

Guo Zixing sat down on the chair and asked solemnly.

"First, reduce its potential."

"In exchange for merit, he promoted people around him, such as Li Shanchang, Feng Guoyong, Zhang Mian, etc., as well as Xu Da, Tang Shengzong, etc., so that these people could no longer make suggestions for Manager Zhu, and began to feel grateful to him. Thank you for your kindness."

"Second, limit its power."

"The commander-in-chief should give him a temporary rest on the grounds that General Manager Zhu has been working very hard since he went south and can no longer bear to work on him. The heavy military and administrative duties should be taken care of by other family members, and on the grounds that he should also allow others to have the opportunity to experience, he should not be allowed to have any experience. The power of the commander-in-chief of the four parties allows other general managers to seize this opportunity to gain military exploits, strengthen their strength, and enhance their prestige, so as to achieve the goal of being able to balance against General Manager Zhu."

"Third, reduce its power."

"The current Manager Zhu has a high and powerful position, but he is also loyal and simple. Therefore, it is not appropriate to show his favor again, but to reduce his authority by giving small punishments and scolding. As the saying goes, when Wang Mang is humble and has not usurped, if Manager Zhu He is a true gentleman. If he suffers a little grievance, he will be able to endure it, and he can understand the commander-in-chief, and he also knows that father and son have no overnight hatred; if by chance Manager Zhu is a person with secret ambitions, he can use this method to put a damper on the dignity of Manager Zhu. Gradually, the people below him will no longer be convinced by him."

After Li Menggeng said this, Guo Zixing began to think deeply.

And this time.

Guo Tianxu came over and said, "Commander Father, Mao Guang has brought back news that the troops led by Mr. Zhang have conquered Waliang Barrier. Among them, the Shenji Battalion has shown great power, and the firearms used by Mr. Zhang's gunmen are extraordinary." Extraordinary!"

"what?"

"How can this be!"

"Wa Liang Lei has two thousand soldiers, but he only has seven hundred."

At this time, Guo Zixing couldn't help but stood up and said in surprise.

Ren Zhigong, who was also here, took the opportunity to say: "Commander, Mr. Zhang is actually one of Zhu Yuanzhang's people now, and now his people have made great achievements outside. Since the so-called Shenji Camp has such powerful firearms, it means that he is not Zhu Yuanzhang." We are completely unwary of you, Commander-in-Chief, so even if we are thinking about the future of our young masters, we still have to be on guard against him, Zhu Yuanzhang, to the point where we cannot check and balance him!"

(End of this chapter)