Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 233 Chongba's Gratitude
Inside the Marshal's Mansion, Lu Jin looked at the two boys in front of him and couldn't help but sigh.

Donkey, later known as Zhu Wenzhen, was the main general in the Battle of Hongdu. He guarded Nanchang with 80,000 troops and resisted Chen Youliang's 600,000 troops for several months, and finally waited for the reinforcements from Zhu Yuanzhang.

When Zhu Wenzheng first joined the army, he was very modest. When Zhu Yuanzhang asked him what kind of official he wanted to be, he said that his uncle would achieve great things in the future, so why would he worry about his own wealth and honor? If he gave official titles to his relatives first, how could his uncle convince the people? Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy about this and took it seriously.

Later, in the Battle of Nanchang, Zhu Wenzhen made great contributions. After the Battle of Poyang Lake, Zhu Yuanzhang returned to Yingtian to reward his meritorious officials, but did not reward his nephew Zhu Wenzhen. Zhu Wenzhen was very dissatisfied. He allowed his soldiers to abduct women and was slandered by others. He had an affair with Zhang Shicheng. Finally, he was reported by Li Yinbing for wanting to rebel. Zhu Yuanzhang then imprisoned him and he died suddenly.

This incident is recorded in history books, but there are many strange things about it. Zhu Wenzhen was very humble at the beginning, so why did his temperament suddenly change after the Battle of Nanchang? Of course, war can indeed change a person's nature, and he was also besieged by Chen Youliang in Nanchang for several months. He saw so many dead bodies, so it was normal for his temperament to change.

But it was a little unbelievable that his own uncle was the eldest brother, but he said he was going to defect to Zhang Shicheng. It also didn't make sense that he died suddenly after being imprisoned.

The most crucial thing is that Zhu Wenzhen was the Grand Commander of the Military Governor's Office at that time, which was the predecessor of the Five Armies Military Governor's Office. At that time, the five armies had not yet been divided. The position of Grand Commander was comparable to the commander-in-chief of the entire army. He was regarded as the first military general in Zhu Yuanzhang's camp. As the leader's nephew, he held such a position, but there was no record of it in the Taizu Veritable Records. It is very strange.

There is a conspiracy theory in later generations, saying that among Zhu Yuanzhang's relatives at that time, only Zhu Wenzheng was left as a direct descendant, who was trained as a successor. He became a general at a young age and made countless military achievements. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang's biological son Zhu Biao was already a few years old. Would Zhu Wenzheng, the nephew, affect Zhu Biao's succession in the future, and the story of Song Taizu and Song Taizong would appear again?
Of course, this is just a conspiracy theory. After all, Lu Jin is not involved in the matter, so it is difficult to comment. However, looking at the very reserved and polite young man in front of him, at least he is not the resentful commander-in-chief in history books.

Moreover, the Zhu family has nothing to do with Lu Jin. Lu Jin also has his own descendants, and the Zhu family will definitely not affect his throne.

To put it bluntly, even if Lu Jin died suddenly at this time, the only ones in the Shengwu Army who could command the support of the people would be the Liao and Yu families. After all, these two families were partners with Lu Jin, and the three Liao brothers were in charge of nearly half of the Shengwu Army's troops, which was far beyond the reach of other factions. Let's get back to the present.

Donkey, who was only 16 years old at this time, was very humble and polite. Baoer Li Wenzhong, who was 13 years old next to him, had fought in many battles in history and had never done anything bad. However, compared to when they surrendered to Zhu Yuanzhang in history, the two were still too young at this time, both in their teens, and could not be of great use.

Bao'er's father, Li Zhen, used to be a poor scholar. He had some culture, but now he is 49 years old and certainly can't fight in a war. Although this "prince consort" was still in charge of military affairs at the age of 60 in history, Lu Jin had no intention of letting this nearly -year-old scholar go to war. Lu Jin still had quite a lot of reserve officers at his disposal, so he was not without personnel available.

The whole family looked at Lu Jin who was sitting on the throne anxiously. Li Zhen and others were a little surprised when they first saw Lu Jin. They didn't expect that Lu Jin was so young, but he had already established such a large foundation and territory, and had a hundred thousand soldiers.

Everyone waited for a long while, and Lu Jin finally asked, "How old are you two? Can you read and do math?"

Donkey and Baoer nodded quickly, and Li Zhen hurriedly said, "Replying to the commander, I also studied when I was young and taught my son at home. Although I can't say that he is very talented, he is still able to understand the basics of literature and writing."

Donkey also bowed and said, "Replying to the commander, I have studied in a private school for a few days. Although I can't write beautiful articles, I can still write letters and do math."

Lu Jin also nodded, stood up, walked to Zhu Yuanzhang, looked at his two nephews and asked.

"Your two nephews are somewhat literate, strong and sturdy, and have good looks. Although they are a little young, they are not useless. Would you like to let them join the army and learn in the artillery camp first? You should know that the battalion commander Yang Huan is only 15 years old this year, about the same age as them.

"The artillery battalion is different from other battalions. It doesn't emphasize martial arts, but requires people to be very good at writing and calculating. Therefore, I recruit young people to the artillery battalion and teach them carefully to become future generals."

Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed when he heard this. The artillery battalion was the most popular battalion in the imperial army. There was no danger and they did not need to charge into battle. They only needed to fire cannons from the back. Moreover, they were taught by Lu Jin himself. If these two boys were really allowed to join the artillery battalion, it would be a higher starting point than that of his uncles. How could he not agree?

Zhu Chongba immediately bowed and said, "It's all up to the Marshal. Why don't you two thank the Marshal for his grace?"

Although Donkey and Baoer didn't know what a cannon camp was, seeing their uncle was so happy, they thought it should be good, so the two half-grown kids immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you for your grace, Marshal."

"Get up, everyone." Lu Jin waved his hand to let the two children get up, and then said again.

"You two are both pretty tall, but you don't have a name yet. Do you want me to give you a name?"

Hearing this, Donkey knelt down again and said, "Please give me a name, Marshal."

When Baoer saw his cousin doing this, he quickly knelt down as well.

Lu Jin looked at the two boys and thought for a while, then a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then he stroked the donkey's head and said.

"Of the two of you, you are the elder brother. I think you are the most humble and sensible. This is a very good quality, especially since you are about to join the army. This kind of character is even more rare in the army. As the Art of War says, 'Arrogant soldiers will be defeated.' If a general cannot be humble and is instead arrogant and complacent, then he will not be far from death.

"So I named you Shouqian. You should remember what I said today. If you remain humble, you will not be defeated. If you are proud and complacent, you will definitely fail. From now on, you will be called Zhu Shouqian."

Upon hearing this, the donkey bowed and said, "Shouqian thanks the commander for the name."

Lu Jin then looked at Bao'er next to him, thought for a moment and then said, "Your last name is Li. In the past, the most accomplished general of the Li family was Li Weigong in the early Tang Dynasty. You should emulate Li Weigong, but you are just a child, and naming you Li Jing will make people think you are arrogant and ignorant.

"Jing itself means peace and tranquility. In this case, why don't you call yourself Li Dingbang?"

Baoer secretly looked up at his father Li Zhen when he heard this. Seeing that Li Zhen repeatedly signaled him to thank him, he imitated his brother Lu Er and kowtowed to Lu Jin, saying, "Dingbang thanks the commander for giving me a name."

"Well, get up." After helping the two young men up, Lu Jin said, "According to our military regulations, anyone without land should be given 50 acres of land for the purpose of settling down. Even if you die in battle in the future, you can leave these 50 acres of land to your relatives or descendants."

Li Zhen was overjoyed when he heard this and quickly said, "Thank you, Marshal."

At this time, Lu Jin looked at the little old man Li Zhen and asked him, "Although you are a little older, you are also a scholar. What are your plans for the future? If you want to cultivate the land, I can divide your land with Chongba's, so that relatives can take care of each other. If you want to work in the Marshal's Mansion, you can also be an agricultural promotion envoy and take charge of the affairs of the military farms in various places. What do you choose?" Li Zhen never thought that he would actually have an official position. He did not hesitate at all and immediately knelt on the ground in fear and trepidation. "I am grateful for the Marshal's kindness. I dare not only care about my own private interests. I am willing to inspect the military farms in various places for the Marshal and produce more food for the Marshal."

"Okay, then let's make it like this. You, the military farm envoy, will be under the jurisdiction of the clerks for the time being, with a rank similar to that of a county magistrate. You can inspect the military farms in various counties and encourage people to cultivate agriculture and sericulture."

"Yes, thank you very much, Marshal."

This scene confused Zhu Yuanzhang and his two nephews. They didn't expect that Lu Jin would reward Li Zhen with an official position. When Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned, Lu Jin asked him again.

"Chongba, how do you plan to accommodate your sister-in-law? If you want to stay in the city, I can find a house for your family. If you want to stay in the countryside, you can also find a small courtyard next to the fields."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Chongba looked at Zhu Shouqian, who had just been given a name by Lu Jin, and immediately said, "General, my sister-in-law and nephew have gone through many hardships to find Luzhou. If they are separated, I am afraid they will not be at peace. It is better to find a house in the city to provide shelter for my sister-in-law and let them see each other often."

Lu Jin nodded, "Okay, then let's find a house in the city and live there first. But we can't stay in Luzhou for long. We will definitely move to Jiangdong in the future, so we won't give you too many houses here. How about you and your family live in one small house for now?"

Zhu Chongba said excitedly, "It's all up to the Marshal to arrange this. I have no way to repay the Marshal's kindness. From now on, I will go through fire and water for the Marshal and sacrifice my life to repay the Marshal's kindness."

"Okay, no need to say that. You and your family haven't seen each other for a long time. I'll give you half a day off. I'll have someone take you to find a house. You go and settle them down. Report back to the camp for morning exercises tomorrow. Remember, you must not miss the deadline."

"Yes, thank you, Marshal. I will take my leave now."

"Go."

Zhu Yuanzhang then took his four relatives away, and then a clerk from the Ministry of Finance took them to look for a house. They found a small courtyard with a single entrance. Although it had only one entrance, it had east and west wing rooms, a total of seven rooms, which were enough for the whole family to live in.

Later, Lu Jin had people deliver beds, bedding and other items. Although they were not luxurious items, they were all made of the finest cotton cloth.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very grateful and satisfied with Lu Jin's arrangements.

A few years ago, a disaster killed almost all of his family. He thought he would never find his relatives again in this life and that his future life was bleak. He had thought that he might just spend his life sitting in a temple and die of old age. But since he joined the Shengwu Army, he saw hope in life again.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the indestructible cockroach, may have been confused before, but he definitely never thought about committing suicide. The speed with which he adapted to the new life impressed Lu Jin.

This time, Lu Jin helped him deliver a letter and found his long-lost relatives, his nephew Lu'er and nephew Bao'er, and he also found his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, which made him, the lonely only child of the Zhu family, very excited.

In terms of living, Lu Jin also allocated 50 acres of land to him and his nephews and nephews respectively. Although the labor force in the Huaixi area is tight and there are wastelands everywhere, even if the land is allocated, there is no time to cultivate it, and they can only recruit tenants to help with simple management.

But at least the land deed is real. As long as Lu Jin is not defeated by the Yuan court, the land deed issued by Lu Jin's government will not be invalidated. Even if it is to keep these lands, they will fight to the death to kill the Yuan army.

What's more, now that he has found his relatives, he knows that he still has a nephew who is still alive. In addition to him, there is another male in the Zhu family. Zhu Chongba no longer has any worries and can die without regrets in the future.

But he did not want to die. Now he had hope for the future. He and his nephews and nieces had just divided the land and had hope for life. He was also an officer in the rebel army. So why not fight again? Maybe in the future when Lu Jin conquered the world, their family would be able to get a title or something. Wouldn't life be better then?
The current situation is better than the best case scenario he had expected. His nephew Lu'er and nephew Bao'er are still young. Lu'er is 16 years old and Bao'er is only 13 years old. They are young and smart. Lu Jin values ​​such people the most, so he directly recruited them to the artillery battalion to study, and Lu Jin usually attaches the most importance to the artillery battalion.

It can be said that the starting point of these two younger generations is higher than that of his uncles. Maybe after they finish their studies, they will immediately become platoon leaders or company commanders, while his uncle is only a squad leader now.

There's no way around it. Under Lu Jin's command, those who understand technology are more popular. That's how it is.

Although brother-in-law Li Zhen was not young, he was given a job by Lu Jin. He was arranged to be an agricultural promotion envoy to inspect military farming affairs in various places. He was considered to have become an official.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very grateful to Lu Jin for this. He had been bullied by landlords since he was a child and was often looked down upon when begging for food. Apart from Lu Jin, almost no one treated him better.

The family now had a place to stay and had received a reward from Lu Jin. Zhu Yuanzhang immediately took them to buy some food. In the evening, he personally taught his two nephews to study hard in the army. He also said that the artillery battalion did not need to charge into battle and was relatively safe, which reassured his sister-in-law and Li Zhen.

On Lu Jin's side, he also summoned Bao Yu over and asked him in detail about the process of delivering the letter to Li Zhen and others, as well as the intelligence work in the north.

Bao Yu answered one by one, but there was nothing much to say. Li Wenzhong and Zhu Wenzhen were not Lu Jin's main targets. He only arranged Bao Yu to find Mao Gui and Fu Youde. As for Deng Yu and Hu Dahai, it was up to him to take his chances, because in the original history, Hu Dahai had gone there on his own, and Deng Yu at least had a fixed place to "set up a stronghold for self-protection" to look for. Hu Dahai didn't even know where to look, so Lu Jin didn't hold out any hope.

However, it was a pleasant surprise to be able to recruit Li Wenzhong and Zhu Wenzhen under his command this time. Although they are still children and cannot be of great use, everything has its pros and cons. Since they are so young in Lu Jin's hands, Lu Jin can naturally train and teach them personally and turn them into what he wants.

Especially Zhu Wenzhen, Lu Jin gave him the name Zhu Shouqian. This name actually belonged to Zhu Wenzhen's son in history. The Jingjiang King lineage of his son Zhu Shouqian continued until the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

Lu Jin gave him this name, firstly, hoping that he could maintain a humble character, and secondly, hoping that this kid could be with him from beginning to end in the future. As long as the generals did not make trouble, Lu Jin did not want to kill them.

The world is so big, if you want to expand outward, you can't do without capable generals. Keeping these people will be useful in the future.

(End of this chapter)