Chapter 109: The Zhu family has a lot of joy, and there is also Li Jinglong, the first war god of the Ming Dynasty

"Dad, did you invite Duke Hanguo to the palace?"

After playing around, Zhu Gang looked at Zhu Yuanzhang again and asked.

"We didn't invite you."

Zhu Yuanzhang heard this and shook his head.

"what?"

In response, Zhu Gang's eyes showed a hint of surprise.

Since Li Shanchang retired, he has been idle at home, but Zhu Yuanzhang has been rewarding him continuously during festivals.

However, he was not happy to be idle, so he came to the morning court today and even personally supported the Ming Dynasty's reforms, and distanced himself from Hu Weiyong.

No matter how you look at it, what Li Shanchang did today seemed to be premeditated rather than a coincidence.

But given the old Duke's style, it's impossible for him to hand over his cards so easily.

Therefore, Zhu Gang was also a little unsure. What was Li Shanchang thinking?
It was obvious that the current situation was unfavorable to Hu Weiyong, but it had no effect on Li Shanchang at all.

Unless Li Shanchang had already seen that Hu Weiyong was being too clever for his own good or was out of his control, he wanted to distance himself from him.

Unable to figure it out, Zhu Gang rubbed his temples with a headache. Even though he was as intelligent as a demon, he still felt a headache facing these old foxes all day long.

After all, this group of old foxes never play by the rules, and are even more cunning than Zhu Gang.

“We were actually surprised too.”

"But he came to see me earlier and asked for an imperial decree to stay in the palace."

"He said he was old and couldn't stand anymore, so we should show some sympathy."

"And I didn't think much about it, so I agreed."

"But this old man actually stood up in person to support the Ming Dynasty's reforms."

Zhu Yuanzhang sat back in his chair and then looked at Zhu Gang.

"Dad, do you remember that Duke Han came here some time ago?"

However, Zhu Biao, who was standing by, suddenly had an idea and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said.

"Some time ago?"

A hint of doubt flashed across Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

"Kunning Palace."

Empress Ma patted Zhu Yuanzhang on the back of his head and said unhappily, "He came to ask for a favor, but you didn't agree."

"Oh, yes, yes, I remember now."

After Empress Ma's reminder, Zhu Yuanzhang also remembered, so he turned his head and looked at Zhu Gang and said, "No wonder Shanchang came to court today. I figured it out. He did it for you."

"for me?"

Hearing this, Zhu Gang stretched out his hand again and pointed at himself, a little confused.

"Yes, the benefactor should be doing this for you."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and nodded.

"What does this have to do with me?"

Zhu Gang frowned at the smile on Zhu Yuanzhang's face.

"I want to curry your favor."

Zhu Biao turned his head and said with a smile.

"Don't make a fuss. He is my sworn brother, a hero who followed me to conquer the world. Does he need to curry favor with me, the King of Jin?"

In response, Zhu Gang looked directly at Zhu Biao and rolled his eyes.

Does Li Shanchang, the Duke of Korea, the old Prime Minister, the Special Advancement of Guanglu Doctor, the Left Pillar of the State, the Grand Tutor, and the Prince's Junior Tutor, need to curry favor with Zhu Gang?
If we pick out any of this list of official positions, we can tell that Li Shanchang was an important official of the country.

After all, he is in the highest position and has the highest power among ministers. Is there any need for him to curry favor with Zhu Gang?
"What if I try to curry favor with you for the sake of my son?"

Queen Ma raised her lips to smile and said.

"Son, Li Qi?"

Zhu Gang thought for a moment and spoke.

"Ah."

Zhu Biao put his arm around Zhu Gang's shoulders and nodded with a smile.

"That bastard wants to take advantage of Jing Jing!"

Looking at the meaningful smile on Zhu Biao's face, Zhu Gang was almost furious and shouted.

"Men should marry when they are old enough, and women should marry when they are old enough."

"Your sister is already of marriageable age, and Li Qi is a good person. I think this is a good destination for her."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Gang, who was a little angry, and waved his hand instead.

"Don't even think about it!"

In response, Zhu Gang looked at Zhu Yuanzhang viciously.

"You can't stop me forever, right?"

Empress Ma looked at Zhu Gang helplessly again.

"Then I also said that if Jingjing likes it, my son has no objection, but if Jingjing doesn't like it, no one can think about it."

Zhu Gang curled his lips.

Princess Lin'an, Zhu Jingjing.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest illegitimate daughter.

Although she was born out of wedlock, she was no different from a legitimate daughter.

Because his mother was not only Concubine Chengmu Sun, but also Zhu Gang's sister who he had raised since childhood.

Even though Zhu Gang left Beijing and went to Taiyuan to become a fief, he never forgot Lin'an. Every time it was Lin'an's birthday, Zhu Gang would prepare gifts in advance to celebrate for him.

To be honest, Zhu Gang did not object to Zhu Jingjing and Li Qi being together.

It was only because he remembered the whereabouts of Li Shanchang in history that Zhu Gang did not want Li Qi to marry Zhu Jingjing.

"Kid, you should at least ask Lin An, right?"

Facing the stubborn Zhu Gang, Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat helpless.

"No need to ask. Lin'an is still young. Let's raise him for another two years and let Uncle Li put away those thoughts."

Zhu Gang waved his hand and still refused: "Anyway, the daughter of my Zhu family will never have trouble finding a husband."

"You're already an adult, and you're still young?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said unhappily.

"She is only of marriageable age, and you can't wait to marry Lin'an off?"

"No, absolutely not, for a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl to get married and raise children!"

After saying this, Zhu Gang glared at Zhu Yuanzhang without showing any weakness.

At the age of fifteen or sixteen, in later generations, when women are still in school, they have to take care of their husbands and children?
Stop joking, there is no way Zhu Gang would agree to this.

"When you get older, it's a little harder to get married."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the furious Zhu Gang and felt a little headache.

"Mom, the old man said you are old."

Zhu Gang turned his head and looked directly at Queen Ma.

"Hey, when did I say your mother was old? Don't slander me."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he immediately expressed some displeasure.

"You are four years younger than my mother. My mother married you when she was twenty-one. Aren't you saying my mother is old?"

A cunning look flashed across Zhu Gang's eyes, and he spoke.

As expected, as soon as these words were spoken, Empress Ma's expression, which had originally been indifferent, suddenly became gloomy.

"That was a chaotic time. Your mother and I were a couple who went through thick and thin together. How can it be compared to the peaceful world today?"

Looking at Empress Ma's expression, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a panic in his heart, but he still pretended to be calm.

On the surface, Empress Ma could still save some face for Zhu Yuanzhang, and everything was based on Zhu Yuanzhang.

But privately, Zhu Yuanzhang knew how fierce this woman was and could not afford to offend her at all.

"Zhu Chongba."

Before Zhu Gang could open his mouth, Empress Ma grabbed Zhu Yuanzhang's ear.

"Ouch, ouch ...

In response to this, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly felt like crying but had no tears, and kept crying out in pain.

But Queen Ma still showed no sign of letting go.

The Zhu brothers who were looking at the scene lowered their heads.

It seemed that they had become accustomed to this scene.

"Your Majesty, may you be well."

After being dealt with by Empress Ma, Zhu Yuanzhang went directly to Duke Cao's mansion. Li Wenzhong also led a group of family members to greet him and bowed to him.

"We are going out incognito today, no need to be polite."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Wenzhong who was observing etiquette, waved his hand slightly and said: "Besides, we are all family, so there is no need to be so reserved."

"I understand."

Li Wenzhong was still a little hesitant, so he just bowed.

"Cousin."

Zhu Gang and Zhu Biao, as well as Zhu Chong and Zhu Di, all looked at Li Wenzhong and saluted.

“It’s a family ritual.”

Seeing that Li Wenzhong was going to return the gift, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately glanced at Li Wenzhong and said.

"Nephew understands." Li Wenzhong then put his hand away.

Zhu Gang also looked Li Wenzhong up and down.

This handsome man was later praised as the Huo Qubing of the Ming Dynasty.

Let’s put it this way: the most dazzling young general of the Ming Dynasty, the nephew of Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, and Mu Ying were both the favorite adopted sons of Empress Ma.

The idol of Emperor Taizong of Ming Dynasty Zhu Di throughout his life and the father of the first war god of the Ming Dynasty.

The ceiling of Huaixi Group’s appearance, the youngest to have opened a six-gong.

At the age of twenty, he defeated an enemy army of 200,000 with only two thousand elite soldiers.

At the age of seventeen, he became famous in one battle and shocked the world.

At the age of 20, he guarded Yanzhou and defeated Zhang Shicheng. Since then, Zhang Shicheng dared not to spy on Yanzhou.

At the age of 23, Zhang Shicheng instigated the Miao general Jiang Ying to rebel and assassinated the general Hu Dahai, putting eastern Zhejiang in danger.

Without having time to ask Zhu Yuanzhang for instructions, Li Wenzhong led his army down from the sky and killed the main rebel general with a thunderous force. He also used both kindness and force to save eastern Zhejiang.

When the good news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed and immediately ordered Li Wenzhong to guard eastern Zhejiang. In just four years, Li Wenzhong became a frontier official who dominated a region with his own abilities.

In the second year of Hongwu, Li Wenzhong and Xu Da separately led the Northern Expedition and captured nearly 10,000 Yuan princes, princesses, and clan members, and seized the Song Dynasty's jade seal that had been lost for nearly two hundred years.

He even roamed thousands of miles in the vast sea of ​​people and destroyed the Shangdu of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

In the third year of Hongwu, the legitimate son of Longxi Prince Li Zhen and the eldest princess of Cao State was granted a title for his merits and was ranked among the six founding dukes as Duke of Cao.

In the fifth year of Hongwu, Xu Da commanded the central route, Li Wenzhong led the eastern route, and Feng Sheng led the western route, and they all went north to fight!

Li Wenzhong led his army out of Juyongguan and attacked Yingchang directly. He captured Yingchang. In this battle, he captured a large amount of supplies and some royal family members of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, which greatly shocked the Northern Yuan court.

It is enough to see that Li Wenzhong joined the army when he was young, spent his whole life in military service, and made immortal contributions to Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming Dynasty.

Afterwards, the group walked into Duke Cao's Mansion.

But along the way, Zhu Gang's attention was on the child beside Li Wenzhong.

Yes, this child is none other than the first war god of the early Ming Dynasty, Li Jinglong, also known as the famous typical example of a tiger father and a dog son.

However, Zhu Gang disagrees with this statement.

Why, as the eldest son of Li Wenzhong, Duke of Cao, how bad could he be?
During Zhu Di's Fengtian Jingnan period, Li Jinglong led an army of 200,000 and joined forces with Geng Bingwen's 300,000, which amounted to nearly 500,000 troops.

Li Jinglong was still able to coordinate affairs in an orderly manner, and it is not difficult to see Li Jinglong's talent from this.

Then why did Li Jinglong always lose every battle?

Some people in later generations speculated that Li Jinglong and Zhu Di had a very good relationship in their childhood, so they wore the same pants.

Pull it down!

Could it be possible that the sixteen-year-old Zhu Di and the seven-year-old Li Jinglong peed in the same pot?
Don't forget that Zhu Di was enfeoffed in Beiping Prefecture in the 13th year of Hongwu, and he was only 21 years old at that time, while Li Jinglong was only 11 years old.

But how could there be any communication between a prince who was already in charge of a region and a child who was just studying?
Besides, Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen should not be stupid, right?
After all, Li Jinglong and Zhu Di have a very good relationship, so this matter should not be difficult to investigate, right?
So the relationship was really very good, and Li Jinglong was able to command an army of 500,000?

Stop joking. Zhu Yunwen didn't even trust Zhu Di's brother-in-law, so how could he send Li Jinglong, who had a very good relationship with Zhu Di?

Therefore, in fact, before the Fengtian Rebellion, Li Jinglong and Zhu Di were simply relatives. As for any other relationship, there was absolutely no such relationship.

Then why did Li Jinglong always lose in battle?

From Zhu Gang's current political perspective, the Fengtian Jingnan Campaign was still a political struggle from beginning to end.

This is why, during the Fengtian Rebellion, only the generals loyal to Zhu Yunwen were able to give Zhu Di some setbacks.

Don’t doubt it? Southern Army generals such as Sheng Yong, Tie Xuan, and Ping An showed bravery in resisting Zhu Di, and these generals were all loyal to Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen.

In particular, Ping'an was originally the son of Pingding, the commander of Jining Guard. Because his father followed Zhu Yuanzhang in his early years and was highly valued by him, and later died in battle, Ping'an was adopted and carefully raised by Zhu Yuanzhang.

After he became an adult, Ping An inherited his father's position and was once under the command of Yan Wang Zhu Di, under whom he served as the commander of Miyun and the deputy governor of the right army.

He followed Zhu Di and wanted to kill Zhu Di, so only the general would be safe.

Why? This person's position has always been very simple, that is Zhu Yuanzhang. So he is naturally loyal to Zhu Yunwen, the crown prince designated by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Therefore, apart from the essential political struggle, since Zhu Di launched the Fengtian Jingnan Campaign, the only one who could defeat Zhu Di was Zhu Yunwen's core group.

After all, the first general sent out by Zhu Yunwen was named Geng Bingwen.

From this we can see that Zhu Yunwen was extremely lacking in political acumen and had a simple mind, and was even fooled by the three idiots of Jianwen.

What do you mean?
Who is Geng Bingwen?
The Marquis of Changxing, who was appointed by Zhu Yuanzhang among the six dukes and twenty-eight marquises of the founding dynasty.

Both father and son were generals, and they both followed Zhu Yuanzhang.

Later, when Zhu Yuanzhang compiled the list of meritorious officials, he even put Geng Bingwen and Xu Da together in the list of first-class meritorious officials.

Not to mention the later period, Zhu Yuanzhang always kept Geng Bingwen in the army as a reserve whenever there was a major battle.

To put it bluntly, monitor the commander.

Lan Yu, Fu Youde and others were all targeted by Geng Bingwen.

And this man was undoubtedly a founding hero, a trusted and beloved general, and also a confidential secretary.

Before Zhu Yuanzhang's death, not only did he not make any arrangements for such a person, he also did not summon him individually, let alone entrust his son to the care of others.

So Zhu Yunwen is stubborn. Your grandfather didn't summon you or say anything to you, so why don't you try to win him over yourself?

Could it be that, as an emperor in the future, Zhu Yuanzhang will have to tell you in your dreams that Geng Bingwen is worth using?
As an emperor, don’t you have such political vision?

Such a person should at least be placed in the central government to participate in politics, right?
Then, Geng Bingwen lost, Li Jinglong lost, and Zhu Yunwen lost completely.

Now that I think about it, Zhu Di's success in suppressing the rebellion was entirely due to Zhu Yunwen's efforts.

Whether in military or political terms, Zhu Yunwen was a mess, so how could he not be defeated?
But now that Zhu Gang has come to the Ming Dynasty, this little brat in front of him must be brought under control.

We cannot start with Li Jinglong, the word "god of war" has changed from a positive word to a negative word.

After all, the current Zhu Gang, King of Jin Zhu Gang, is known as the God of War!

"Jiujiang, do you miss your uncle?"

While Zhu Gang was thinking, a group of people walked into the main hall. As soon as they entered the main hall, Zhu Yuanzhang took Li Jinglong's hand and smiled.

"think."

Li Jinglong looked at Zhu Yuanzhang timidly.

"You little brat, why don't you go to the palace and see your uncle?"

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Jinglong with a stern expression.

In response, Li Jinglong shrank his head and unconsciously revealed a hint of restraint.

"Your Majesty, Jiujiang"

Seeing this, Li Wenzhong quickly turned his gaze to Zhu Yuanzhang and prepared to speak.

But before Li Wenzhong could finish his words, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly interrupted him and asked, "What's your name?"

"uncle."

Li Wenzhong stood up quickly.

"That's right."

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression softened slightly, with a faint smile on his face as he said, "That's right. You can call me Your Majesty. Besides, we are a family. Besides, this is not the imperial court. Why should we be so distant?"

"That's right, cousin, don't be restrained, and this is your home anyway."

After Zhu Biao pulled Li Wenzhong, who had stood up, to sit down, he also said with a smile.

"Ah."

Li Wenzhong nodded gently, then turned to look at Zhu Yuanzhang and said with a smile: "Uncle, Jiujiang has been studying military tactics recently, so he didn't come to the palace to pay a visit to you, please don't be offended."

"The child is studious, how can we blame him?"

Zhu Yuanzhang rolled his eyes at Li Wenzhong, rubbed Li Jinglong's head, and said with a smile: "Jiujiang, study hard, and in the future you must become a famous general like your father and become the backbone of our Ming Dynasty."

"Uh-huh!"

Li Jinglong nodded heavily, his tone full of determination and longing as he said, "Jiujiang will work hard to become a god of war like my uncle, the god of war of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Cough cough."

Zhu Gang picked up the teacup and took a sip. He was almost choked by Li Jinglong's words, and a strange look appeared in his eyes.

After all, Li Jinglong is indeed the God of War of the Ming Dynasty, but the title of Li Jinglong as the God of War of the Ming Dynasty is not a compliment, but a derogatory term.

"What, you have an opinion?"

Facing Zhu Gang's sudden cough, Zhu Yuanzhang glanced over and said unhappily.

"It's too early for Jiujiang to learn military tactics at this age. It would be better to let him study in the main hall first. It won't be too late after two years."

Zhu Gang didn't care about Zhu Yuanzhang's bad temper at all. Instead, he pondered for a moment before saying, "After all, he is still young and at the age of playing around. How can he really concentrate on studying?"

"Old Three is right. After all, we are living in a peaceful age now, unlike the chaotic times where we are always in danger. It would be better to let Jiujiang play for two years first."

Hearing this, Zhu Biao also nodded, then looked at Li Wenzhong and said with a smile: "What do you think, cousin?"

"What do you think, little brat?"

In response, Li Wenzhong neither nodded nor shook his head. Instead, he looked at Li Jinglong and asked.

"Can I go?"

Li Jinglong's face suddenly showed a longing expression.

"can."

Li Wenzhong's helplessness flashed across his face, but he still nodded.

"Then the son will go."

Li Jinglong immediately smiled happily.

"Send Jiujiang to the palace tomorrow."

Zhu Yuanzhang also said with a smile.

"it is good."

Li Wenzhong nodded slightly.

"Brother-in-law, are you still resting?"

Afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while before looking at Li Wenzhong and said.

(End of this chapter)