Gu Cheng stopped Zhang Bao's imbecility, stared hard, and said to Xia Xun, "What do you mean?"
"What's the meaning?"
Xia Xun's expression became more calm, and he smiled and said: "The little princess went south with the Xie family and was trapped here. You also met by chance. How could I know before you did?"
Gu Cheng's face changed, and Xia Xun said calmly: "As the saying goes, know yourself and the enemy, and you will be victorious in every battle. His Highness the King of Yan has all-pervasive eyes and ears. We have everything under our control, including all the movements of the imperial army and even the actions of Hebei Province. Geng Bingwen knows his friends.
But if you don’t know the enemy, even if you have strong troops and strong horses, what are your chances of winning?”
Gu Cheng's eyes flickered and he said suspiciously: "Impossible. The King of Yan hastily raised his troops and took risks with only 800 people. However, there was a flaw in one place, and the head has been missing for a long time. How can it be possible to insert ears everywhere and form a body?"
Like a dragnet?"
Xia Xun smiled and said: "It turns out that the general doesn't believe that King Yan has had any objections, so do you also understand that the court is imposing an 'unfounded' crime on King Yan?"
Gu Cheng snorted and refused to answer.
Xia Xun nodded and said: "Yes, King Yan did have a hasty attack, but he was able to capture the nine cities of Beiping with only 800 people, and conquered Jizhou, Zunhua, Miyun, Juyongguan, and so on with thousands of hurriedly recruited troops.
Eight thousand infantry defeated Song Zhong's 40,000 soldiers and horses, and captured Song Zhong alive. Could it be that the soldiers and horses commanded by King Yan were all heavenly soldiers and generals, and one could equal a hundred? Of course not. Although King Yan was brave, he could not defeat Song Zhong with a small number.
Attack the crowd, especially among these few soldiers, most of them are surrendered soldiers who have just surrendered. You are the ones leading the troops. You should know how difficult it is.
The two defenders of Jizhou, Ma Yi, fought to the death and Mao Sui surrendered. The defenders of Zunhua and Miyun even surrendered without a fight. Wang Zhen, the defender of Juyong Pass, only pretended to resist a little and then retreated to Huai Lai. Song Zhong led an army of 40,000 men.
They faced eight thousand soldiers of King Yan, but their own troops turned against them and fled back to the city in a hurry. They hid in the latrines to escape. Couldn't the two generals see that King Yan had what people wanted? King Yan had
With such support, how difficult is it for us to control your every move?"
Zhang Bao said unconvinced: "This is because the King of Yan often guards the border and has commanded troops for a long time. He is a popular figure among the Northern Army. He has led all those generals!"
Xia Xun nodded and emphasized: "Yes, they were brought by the King of Yan. They were brought by the King of Yan on behalf of the court. Only during wartime, they were under the control of the King of Yan. In peacetime, they were dispatched by the court and received the royal salary. Isn't that right?
Because the court was unfair, they turned their hearts towards the King of Yan? Is it because the border guards were timid and fearful of death when they defeated the weak in numbers? The border guards never retreated when faced with the powerful enemies of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. Why did the King of Yan
A mere 800 people raised their troops to quell the situation, but when faced with King Yan, they fled without surrender and had no intention of fighting? Haven't the two generals ever thought about the reason?"
Geng Cheng smiled faintly and said: "Now the soldiers and horses commanded by Marquis Changxing are all from the south. They are not the soldiers that King Yan once led. Such a good thing will never happen again."
Xia Xun said solemnly: "The soldiers are divided into the north and the south, but the people's hearts are not divided between the north and the south. What's more, the soldiers are naturally soldiers from the south. What about the generals? They are the soul of an army. If the general's heart is towards the King of Yan, who among the soldiers under his command will have any objection?
?The two generals thought that the generals of the Southern Army were monolithic and focused on the imperial court? Haha, Yang could calmly take away the crown prince of Yan and the two princes in Nanjing city, at the feet of the emperor, even if the imperial court laid a dragnet and could not find any trace of them.
Do you think Yang alone can solve the clues?"
Xu Ming'er has been listening and watching, her big and smart eyes sometimes glancing at Xia Xun, who was talking boastfully, and sometimes looking at Gu Cheng and Zhang Bao, whose expressions were changing, and she thought to herself: "This guy started to lie again!
"
The expressions of Gu Cheng and Zhang Bao suddenly changed, and Zhang Bao said suspiciously: "Are there any of your accomplices in the court?"
Gu Chengze was more concerned about the generals of the Northern Expedition and asked: "Has someone in the army secretly defected to King Yan?"
Xia Xun smiled and said nothing. Gu Cheng thought for a moment and said with a pale face: "Could it be Wu Gao, the Marquis of Jiangyin!"
This time, the imperial court dispatched an army of 300,000 people. There were three marquises among the generals. The leader of the middle army was Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing, with 130,000 soldiers. The leader of the right army was Anlu Hou Wu Jie, with 80,000 soldiers. The leader of the left army was Jiang Yin.
Hou Wu Gao commanded 90,000 troops. If Wu Gao really rebelled and attacked the heart of the Chinese army from the left wing, and if the King of Yan broke in from the front, Geng Bingzhong's original foolproof defensive arrangement would be shattered and he would be vulnerable to a single blow.
When Gu Cheng asked this question, Zhang Bao's expression also changed. Wu Gao, Marquis of Jiangyin, was the father-in-law of King Zhu Bai of Xiang. His biological daughter was Princess Xiang. Her daughter and son-in-law were imprisoned. If this old man really went to King Yan,
That was very possible, and for a while the two of them looked at each other.
Xia Xun didn't know who Princess Xiang's father was, so she had no intention of pointing the finger at Wu Gao. What she said just now was just to raise suspicions. Unexpectedly, the two people were in agreement. Xia Xun neither admitted nor denied.
He just said: "Don't be suspicious. There are many people in the army who are rebelling against King Yan. There are also more than one person who wants to surrender to King Yan. Not only because they are unfair to King Yan, but more importantly, they
Seeing a longer term than the two generals..."
Gu Cheng couldn't help but ask: "What's the long term?"
Xu Ming'er secretly sighed: "These two stupid guys, if you kill them with a straight knife, nothing will happen. But you insist on asking questions like this. Ask, ask, you must be like me.
He cheated and sold it, and she happily helped him count the money."
Xia Xun looked stern and spoke sternly: "The feudal feudal system is the legacy of Taizu and the ancestral precepts! Does the emperor's cutting of the vassal clan violate the custom of the ancestors? Yes! He is the emperor, and he can change it if he wants to.
, it’s enough to reduce military power, why kill them all? What is a vassal? A vassal divides its land, governs its people, and leads its own troops. This is a vassal!
Cut off his fiefdom and collect his vassal soldiers, then the vassal king is just a king, not a vassal king. He will imprison, kill, and exile. Why is this? "Don't let me bear the name of killing my uncle."
Aren’t you all well aware of the emperor’s instruction, ‘As long as the fourth uncle dies, King Yan will not live’?”
"Two generals, the world and the country are first of all the world and the country of the ancestors. It is the world and the country of the Zhu Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty, not the current emperor. The kings are the descendants of Taizu, the blood of the late emperor, and they are born to be royal relatives.
Enjoying the royal salary and salary, instead of being a commoner, Fang, Huang, Qitai and others alienated the royal family and persecuted the clan. King Yan wanted to "clear the emperor's side". Isn't it the right thing to do?
During the Song Dynasty, martial arts were suppressed and literature was promoted. The literati were often placed directly on top of the warriors, dictating them. Battles that should not be fought were often fought, and battles that should be won were often lost. As a result, the heroes were stained with blood on the battlefield, and their ambitions were difficult to achieve.
.The territory of our Ming Dynasty is only twice as large as that of the Song Dynasty. The emperor is still worried about his close relatives. He is still worried about reducing their military power and withdrawing their vassal states. He insists on putting them to death. Let me ask, after all the kings have been reduced,
Will he sit in Nanjing with peace of mind, and let the generals with foreign surnames lead heavy troops to guard the border, thousands of miles away?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Using culture to suppress military force and using culture to control military force will inevitably be even worse than in the Song Dynasty. At that time, how will you generals fare? If King Yan is defeated and all the kings are eliminated, what will happen to the emperor’s talents? The imperial court is not just limited to Jinling City, the central officials are all literati, and all the military towns must also have literati controlling the army!"
Xia Xun raised his voice and said with a sharp look: "The Meng Yuan Dynasty in Mobei still has very powerful armed forces, and King Timur's army in the Western Regions is eyeing them. At that time, under the random command of a group of literati and rogues, our Ming army can still Restore the glory of Taizu's time? If the barbarians are allowed to re-enter the Central Plains, wouldn't what you are doing today help the tyrants? You will make us Han people be reduced to the fourth class again, working as cattle and horses for the barbarians, as slaves and maids, Become an eternal sinner?"
Gu Cheng's voice softened, and he said in earnest: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty commands the world. King Yan's land is only a small corner, and his soldiers are only tens of thousands. What can... be accomplished?"
Xia Xun asked: "How does King Yan compare now to when Emperor Taizu raised his army?"
Zhang Baodao: "That's different. At that time, the people of the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties had lost their hearts, the world was in chaos, and heroes emerged together. But now the world is unified and the four seas are unified!"
Xia Xun immediately said: "You are wrong! What dominates the world now is just a facade! It is the facade left by Emperor Taizu! The emperor cut down the vassals, not only cut down the soldiers, but also cut down the people, and cut off the four great powers. Even if the kings refused to join, From the time when King Yan came to Jingnan, do you think they would side with the emperor?
The emperor came into power, and in just a few months, he promoted two teachers to the positions of prime ministers who had no relationship with each other. These men, who had been working as junior officials for ten years, had devoted themselves to their duties and worked conscientiously, hoping to one day become important ministers of the dynasty. Are all the civil servants convinced?
Two teachers commanded hundreds of officials and assisted the emperor; their eyes, ears, and close friends were all rotten literati who only knew how to do it. Will the princes, nobles, generals and powerful men be willing to accept this?"
Xia Xun's burning eyes swept across the faces of Gu Cheng and Zhang Bao coldly, and said in a deep voice: "The unity of the world has been shattered from the inside by the current emperor! The return of the four seas has been destroyed by the current emperor. The monarch and his ministers, both civil and military, have become estranged from their moral principles!"
Zhang Bao glanced at Gu Cheng, and the blade that was pointed steadily at Xia Xun's throat slowly lowered.
In fact, from the time King Yan started his army, the imperial soldiers and horses had been organized and surrendered to King Yan one after another, surrendering without a fight. This shows how the various methods of restraining military force since Jianwen came to power have lost the morale of the military. King Yan led the army However, this is not the absolute reason for them to turn to the King of Yan. Their promotion, salary, non-war management and command are all from the imperial court, not the King of Yan. They turn to the King of Yan, who is still absolutely weak. Isn't it the imperial court? My own problem?
Regarding the situation of Fang Huang and others directing the imperial court and Jianwen's bloody methods to eliminate the vassal kings, the generals in the imperial court had long been dissatisfied, especially Xu Zengshou and the generals around him. Xia Xun's words spoke directly to his heart. into their hearts.
Xia Xun saw that the heat was almost done, so he added the last weight to their already wavering stance: "That's what Yang said. If the two generals feel that Yang is wrong, they can take action now." . Yang came here to persuade the little princess to return to Nanjing. Now that the two generals are here, Yang is relieved and will die without regrets!"
As soon as Xia Xun said "you can do it", Xu Ming'er stepped in front of him. Hearing Xia Xun's words, Zhang Bao was very puzzled and couldn't help asking again: "Why not Princess Bao?"
Peiping?"
Xia Xun said categorically: "Because, King Yan will definitely go to Nanjing!"
Gu Cheng's hand trembled, and the blade pointed straight at Xia Xun slowly came down... (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to ***(***.***)
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