Chapter 151: Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, marched in person
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang is already very good at naming his children.
"Okay, then let's give this little nephew a good name!" Zhu Yuanzhang agreed immediately.
Choosing a name is an extremely important matter. Zhu Yuanzhang did not dare to be careless and immediately started to think about it.
After half a day, he felt he had an idea.
"Starting from Zhu Biao, the children of this generation of our old Zhu family have always relied on wood, and my little nephew should be the same."
Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed his palms and continued.
"How about this? This child will be called Zhu Kai."
Zhu Han is also very satisfied with this name.
"Zhu Kai is good. It's a good name. Then this little guy will be called Zhu Kai from now on."
After the child was given a name, a joyful full-moon family dinner officially began in the Royal Palace.
After everyone had eaten and drank, sister-in-law Ma Xiuying took a group of children to the inner courtyard to see little Zhu Kai, while elder brother Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han discussed matters in the front hall.
"Chen Youliang has been marching all the way in Yunnan. I heard that he has sent heavy troops to surround the two cities of Dali and Kunming. Once captured by Chen Youliang, the whole of Yunnan will completely fall into his hands." Brother Zhu Yuanzhang commented while saying.
Tea said.
The Ming Dynasty took advantage of its abundant supply of goods and had already opened up several trade routes in the southwest.
Hundreds of spies also used these routes to go deep into Yunnan and Guizhou and other places.
Therefore, the spies of the Ming Dynasty were basically able to make detailed reports on the progress of Chen Youliang's attack on Yunnan.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang was far away in Yingtian Mansion, he was still able to quickly get information about Chen Youliang.
"No one would have thought that Duan Gong, the general manager of Dali, and Liang Wang's crotchless Zarawalmi would be so stretched out. Fortunately, they could also rely on the city walls of Dali and Kunming to delay Chen Youliang's time." Zhu Han said beside him.
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The Ming Dynasty has decided to launch a three-pronged Northern Expedition after the spring of the third year of Hongwu.
In order to complete the feat of this century-old foundation, the Ming Dynasty selected elite soldiers and generals from various places to participate in the Northern Expedition.
As a result, the situation in the southwest region will completely turn into a defensive posture. If Chen Youliang takes this opportunity to launch a large-scale invasion, it will indeed cause a lot of trouble for the Ming army.
"However, Chen Youliang's skill lies not in running a place, but in fighting. Even if Chen Youliang defeats Yunnan, he may not be able to establish a stable rule there when we attack Yunnan."
Zhu Han said immediately.
"This makes sense. If we can resolve the battle in the Northern Expedition against the Yuan Dynasty within a year, we don't have to worry about Chen Youliang." My elder brother Zhu Yuanzhang said.
"The Yuan Dynasty is at the end of its war effort. Let's go up and give it a gentle push. The Yuan Dynasty is now on the verge of collapse. One year is enough to resolve the battle." Zhu Han did not have much worries about the Northern Expedition to the Yuan Dynasty.
Now the Ming Dynasty wants money, people, and food, but the Yuan Dynasty is suffering from internal and external troubles and has no advantages at all. How can it stop the Ming army's Northern Expedition?
Zhu Han and his elder brother Zhu Yuanzhang finally decided on the strategy of the Northern Expedition against the Yuan Dynasty.
Yunnan, Dali City.
Yunnan is a place that is like spring all year round. Even in winter, there is no unbearable cold weather under Dali City.
Chen Youliang used this period of time to mobilize a large number of craftsmen from Sichuan. He used these craftsmen to cast many bronze cannons outside Dali City. These cannons weighed several thousand kilograms, and were all used to fire the hardest shells. The purpose was naturally to destroy them. The city wall of Dali City.
Although Duan Gong in the city had sufficient manpower and material resources, he had no way to deal with Chen Youliang's army outside the city. He could only watch as Chen Youliang forged the cannon bit by bit.
The cannons ordered by Chen Youliang to be cast were all imitated in the style of the Ming Dynasty and used the most sophisticated gray gunpowder.
Compared with the original black powder, this brand new gray gunpowder should have stronger ejection ability, can react in the barrel for a longer time, and will not increase the pressure too much and cause the barrel to explode.
Naturally, Chen Youliang had sent people to secretly learn the craftsmanship of ash gunpowder from the Ming army. Although the techniques they learned were not very similar, they were already 70-80% similar, which was enough to be used against the Dali city wall.
"Your Majesty, the mighty general's artillery has been deployed!" A Han general came to ask Chen Youliang for instructions and report.
In front of Chen Youliang's army were twenty artillery pieces, with barrels as thick as tree trunks pointing straight at Dali City ahead.
"Okay! Start bombarding the city wall!"
Following Chen Youliang's order, these terrifying siege artillery in the Han army immediately began to fire.
Such a powerful artillery is completely different from the previous small artillery.
When heavy projectiles hit the Dali city wall, they would bring down large amounts of rammed earth and bricks every time.
"Quick! Pull all the strong men in the city to the city wall. If there are any defects, repair them immediately!"
Duan Gong immediately panicked when he saw how powerful the Red Turban Army's artillery was.
However, even if all the strong men in Dali City joined in repairing the city wall, the Han army's artillery was so powerful that there would be no time to complete the repairs, and a new defect would appear on the city wall.
After several attempts, the strong men in the city felt desperate one by one. Many of them even began to become discouraged. They secretly retreated from the city wall while the overseer was away and hid in the city.
Everyone knows that after the Han army breaks through Dali City, it will definitely carry out a massive burning, killing and looting. Now they have no confidence in defense and just want to find a safe place for themselves to hide.
Faced with such a situation, even Duan Gong already felt a little desperate in his heart.
"It's not good, your Excellency, the wall of East City has collapsed!"
"Sir, the North City Gate has been destroyed by the enemy!"
"Sir, the west wall has collapsed! All the strong men who repaired the wall have escaped!"
The successive bad news on the battlefield made Duan Gong's mood sink to the bottom.
Duan Gong didn't know how many days he could last in this situation.
After these powerful siege guns joined the battlefield, it was no longer a matter of time before Chen Youliang captured Kunming City.
Rumble!
With a loud noise, a huge gap was opened in the Dali city wall by the Red Turban Army's artillery.
Tens of thousands of Han Red Turban Army soldiers have already formed a formation outside the Dali city wall.
Prepare to move forward and capture Dali City.
Now with the last gap opened, Emperor Chen Youliang of the Han Dynasty rode his horse to the town and announced an order for a full-scale attack.
"Break Dali City and wash the city for three days!"
Emperor Chen Youliang of the Han Dynasty gave an order, and tens of thousands of Red Army Turban soldiers immediately let out excited shouts.
Washing the city is different from ordinary massacres. There is no compulsory killing of all the residents in the city. Instead, the attacking soldiers can loot the city unscrupulously. Of course, if anyone dares to resist during the looting process, they will be killed.
Seeing blood is completely normal.
The reason why Chen Youliang issued this order was because he had a little tolerance at the last moment.
If the people in Dali City want to submit to him, then they can be spared their lives, but if anyone dares to be ignorant of current affairs, the soldiers of the Han Red Scarf Army who enter the city will turn them into ghosts under the sword.
As the Red Turban Army of the Han Dynasty launched an attack, the defenders of Dali City were unable to stop these wolf-like enemies.
Dali City began to burn, and many people wanted to resist, but they were suppressed by the Han Red Turban Army.
The raging fire and thick smoke soon enveloped most of Dali City.
Duan Gong had no means at this time to reverse the current defeat.
"Run away, run away!"
"Sir, let's go quickly."
Several generals shouted anxiously beside Duan Gong.
The General Manager's Mansion in Dali City has a secret passage leading outside the city. Although Dali City has been breached, as long as they escape through the secret passage, Duan Gong and others will not be in danger of their lives.
Duan Gong led his family and personal followers, a total of several hundred people, to the entrance of the tunnel, ready to escape at any time.
However, before entering the tunnel, Duan Gong reluctantly took a look at Dali City, which was in complete chaos.
"The centuries-old foundation of the Duan family in Dali has now fallen into my hands!" Duan Gong whispered with tears streaming down his face.
But no matter how unwilling Duan Gong was, he still had to run away now.
Chen Youliang did not just conquer the Yunnan land in name, but wanted to completely control it.
Then the Duan family of Dali, a local snake that has been entrenched here for hundreds of years, has no chance of survival.
Duan Gong led hundreds of people into the tunnel and ran southward along the tunnel.
After finally getting out of the tunnel, we arrived at the rear of Chen Youliang's army.
Under normal circumstances, this tunnel could be used to raid and siege the enemy's weak points in the rear, but the combat power of the Han Red Turban Army was one level higher than that of the Dali Army. Even a sneak attack would be a hit against the odds.
After Duan Gong and others escaped from Dali City, they had no choice but to run southward.
In the south of Yunnan, there are several local tribes that have been intermarrying with the Duan family of Dali for generations. Duan Gong wants to escape to those tribes and use their troops to find a way to fight back to Dali City.
However, now that the Duan clan in Dali has even lost its home base in Dali City, no one can be sure whether those tribes that have been intermarrying for generations can continue to support themselves.
Duan Gong's inevitable path is destined to be full of dangers.
In February of the third year of Hongwu.
The Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition against the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty has finally begun!
The first to attack was the Ming Dynasty's West Route Army, with Xu Da as the main general and Chang Yuchun as the deputy general. They commanded an army of 80,000 and launched an attack on Xiazhou and Baozhou, which were occupied by the Yuan Dynasty.
Tuoyin Timur of Pingzhang in Shaanxi Province of the Yuan Dynasty was the third younger brother of Wang Baobao, and he was considered an experienced young general. If he were to fight against ordinary people, Tuoyin Timur still had some chance of winning.
However, facing the Ming army combination of Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, Tuoyin Timur was completely helpless and was defeated steadily in just seven days!
Timur originally thought that he still had 100,000 troops.
It should be able to withstand the Ming army's attack, but reality told him that he was wrong.
After several defeats, Tuoyin Timur could only retreat to Xiazhou City.
At this time, the city of Xiazhou was already empty, and outside the city was endless grassland. Timur knew that he had completely lost hope, and the Ming army would definitely take advantage of his withdrawal to Xiazhou to launch an attack.
They launched a fierce attack, so they simply gave up Xiazhou City.
Tuoyin Timur fled without a fight, and immediately the important northwest town of Xiazhou fell into the hands of the Ming army.
Xu Da led the Ming army to easily include most of the northwest areas in his achievements.
The northwest was historically the territory of the Xixia Dynasty. When the Mongols were rising, Genghis Khan Temujin led his troops to attack Xixia. After three conquests, especially the last war of annihilation, the entire Xixia Kingdom was completely destroyed.
, all the Dangxiang tribesmen were slaughtered, and the entire northwest was reduced to a vast and sparsely populated area.
Now, under Xu Da's fierce offensive, the Mongolians stationed here have completely escaped, and the entire northwest area has almost entered an empty state without a single person for dozens of miles.
Vast tracts of fertile farmland and pasture were abandoned here.
It was already the beginning of spring. Xu Da looked at the fertile land and felt reluctant to abandon such good land to waste.
Xu Da immediately reported to the court, requesting that the land in the northwest be used to reward meritorious soldiers and poor people in Shaanxi. This would not only win over people's hearts, but also help the court to enrich the border area and prevent the Mongols from invading the border in the future.
When Xu Da's memorial was submitted, he did not arrive at Yingtian Mansion, but arrived at Haozhou.
Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty personally led the Central Route Army northward from Haozhou. At this time, the emperor was officially stationed in Haozhou.
After seeing Xu Da's request, Zhu Yuanzhang did not respond immediately. Instead, he sent someone to pass the news to Zhu Han and let Zhu Han make up his mind on the matter.
At this time, Zhu Han had already arrived in Haizhou, Shandong.
The Ming Dynasty's Eastern Route Army will start from Shandong and go north along the Liaonan Road to regain Liaoyang Province.
After seeing Xu Da's request, Zhu Han immediately sent someone to send his reply to his brother Zhu Yuanzhang.
"Farming is prohibited north of Yanzhou and all pastures are operated. To the south of Yanzhou, land can be reclaimed for farming."
Zhu Yuanzhang was not very clear about the context of Zhu Han's reply.
However, Ming Dynasty's top priority now is the Northern Expedition, and there is not much time to communicate about the land distribution issue in the northwest. Zhu Yuanzhang simply listened to Zhu Han's arrangement.
After all, Zhu Han emphasized very seriously in his letter that the use of land must be divided according to this strategy, otherwise it will greatly affect the future of the Ming Dynasty in the future.
Zhu Han is definitely not an alarmist.
The northwest region is a well-known border area between farming and nomadic life in China. During the Ming Dynasty in history, in order to consolidate border defense, the court organized military guards and people to reclaim grassland for cultivated land on a large scale in the northwest region.
At the beginning, the grain output of these cultivated lands was very considerable, which met the military rations required by the Ming army stationed on the northwest border.
However, as time goes by, these farmlands reclaimed from grasslands are rapidly becoming desertified.
The strong dust in the northwest region turned the entire Guanzhong into a hazy sky.
The originally fertile farmland quickly turned into barren sand.
Because of the desertification of these lands, the Ming army's border defense line in the northwest had to retreat.
By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming army's border defense line in the northwest had almost retreated to the hinterland of Guanzhong.
At this time, the northwest Mongolian tribes were still hundreds of miles away from Guanzhong.
Because at this time, the Ming army's border defense line was no longer to defend against the Mongols, but to defend against the sandy land that was eroding southward year by year.
Large-scale land reclamation and land desertification in the northwest threaten not only Guanzhong, but also the grasslands.
Given today's national strength, this kind of land desertification is almost irreversible.
Zhu Han no longer has much concern about the Mongols. What is truly terrifying is the destruction of nature.
Therefore, he must stop Xu Da's proposal of large-scale land reclamation in the northwest.
Combining grazing and farming is the long-term way to operate in the northwest.
Hebei, Cangzhou.
Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty led an army of 100,000 people to Cangzhou City.
From Cangzhou to the north, only a few hundred miles away is the capital of the Mongols.
According to the reports from the Ming army's front-line scouts, the Mongols only had a few thousand troops on this section of the road.
Moreover, most of these troops are mainly light cavalry scouts, and the real main force has all retreated to the capital city.
It was obvious that the Mongols were already planning to abandon the capital city.
Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty came to Cangzhou on his own expedition.
It has little military significance. After all, the Mongols have already given up and lie down.
However, the political significance of the imperial commander's personal expedition is extraordinary.
Historically, since Shi Jingtang, the founding emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty, defected to the Khitan Yelv Deguang and ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, no Han emperor has ever been able to set foot on the land of Youzhou. Of course, those who passed by as prisoners like Huizong and his son of the Song Dynasty cannot be counted.
Because of this, Zhu Hancai strongly persuaded his elder brother Zhu Yuanzhang to go on the expedition himself, so that everyone in the world could see this proud moment.
Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty personally led the expedition, and the troops he led were naturally the most elite troops in the Ming Dynasty.
These troops were equipped with brand-new armor, and the Great Ming Sun and Moon flag fluttered in the wind along the way. The Mongolian defenders along the way fled, and the local Han people cheered to welcome the return of the king's army.
Since dispatching troops from Shandong Province, the Central Route Army led by Zhu Yuanzhang has encountered almost no resistance. It took some time to be greeted by people from all over the country along the way.
After the army stationed in Cangzhou Prefecture, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty issued an imperial edict in Cangzhou. In the imperial edict, Zhu Yuanzhang announced that all Mongols and Han people in the north would be pardoned for all previous crimes as long as they surrendered, and they would be treated as the same common people.
What the common people want all their lives is to be clothed and fed in peace. Naturally, they rushed to welcome the imperial edict of the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. However, those Mongolians had already received the empress dowager's edict and packed up their bedding and fled north one by one. There would be no
Why did the Mongols surrender to the Ming army?
As a result, some local Han powerful people and Yuan Dynasty officials were left behind.
These people were completely devoted to the Yuan Dynasty.
But it is impossible for them to give up their land and ancestral inheritance in their hometown and go to the prairie to become herdsmen.
According to the rumors about the Ming army, once they surrender to the Ming army, although they can save their own lives, the land accumulated over the past hundreds of years will be confiscated by the Ming army.
So these people are the most hesitant.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang would not give them a chance to hesitate any longer. After taking a short rest in Cangzhou, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty led the Central Route Army to march northward to continue to conquer the remaining forces of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.
The first state capital that needs to be passed through from Cangzhou to the north is Hejian Prefecture.
Zhu Yuanzhang had already sent a wave of envoys to Hejian Mansion to persuade the garrison generals of the Yuan Dynasty to surrender.
However, when Zhu Yuanzhang led his army to the boundary of Hejian Mansion, the news brought by the envoys in front was not so smooth.
I saw this Ming envoy in a miserable state, with his official uniform and hat missing, and his body covered with bruises from being beaten.
Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty was furious when he saw this, and immediately asked what was going on.
The messenger immediately said sadly and angrily.
"Your Majesty, Zhu Tiesuo, the guard of Hejian City in front, refused to surrender, and even killed a group of righteous soldiers who wanted to abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side! The lower officials were stripped of their official uniforms by them, and their official hats were also stripped off by them.
I was also whipped by them when I left!"
When Emperor Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he became even more furious.
"What a Zhu Tiesuo! Where did he come from?" Zhu Yuanzhang immediately asked the accompanying officials next to him.
Most officials were not very familiar with these local generals of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and for a while no one knew the origins of Zhu Tiesuo.
Finally, a junior colonel who joined the army in Cangzhou gave the answer to the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.
