The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 40 There are too many military leaders, I want to make a contribution!
Ma Xun was brought before Xu Da, where he saw the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty, the first meritorious minister in the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

Xu Da was only 38 years old. As a fellow townsman of Zhu Yuanzhang and one of the 24 generals of Huaixi, he did not look like a fierce general simply from his appearance.

He has a thin face and a not very strong body, but this is understandable. Xu Da is a handsome man, a figure like Wei Qing and Li Jing, not just a fierce general.

When he saw Xu Da, Ma Xun first apologized, "General, we are slow in marching, please punish us."

Mu Ying and Lan Yu behind Ma Xun also lowered their heads, waiting for punishment. The army had already begun to besiege Qingyang, and it seemed that the war was about to end, but they arrived late.

At this time, it would not be excessive to be punished by military law. Before this, the general had been urging him to do so one military order after another.

Xu Da helped Ma Xun up and looked him over with a smile, "You feel close to me when you see me. I'm sure my sister-in-law will be happy to have found me."

Ma Xun was a little embarrassed and said again, "General, we are slow in marching, please forgive us."

Xu Da looked at Lan Yu and said, "You should arrange for the soldiers to rest first. You will have another chance to fight in two days. Fight well and don't let others take away the credit."

Lan Yu and Xu Da were also familiar with each other and immediately asked, "General, at this time, what else can you do?"

They knew clearly that Qingyang had run out of ammunition and food. Zhang Liangchen tried to break out twice but was blocked. He suffered heavy casualties and his morale was low. Now he was not allowed to surrender.

Xu Da pointed at the city of Qingyang and said, "The city hasn't been taken yet, how come there is no credit? Zhang Liangchen's general He Zongzhe was supporting Wang Baobao before, in the Liupan Mountain area, and he hasn't been defeated yet."

Now everyone is happy. There is still a chance to make a contribution, and it doesn’t seem too late.

Lan Yu happily went to settle the troops and took time to rest, because he might be thrown into the war at any time.

After Lan Yu left, Xu Da looked at Mu Ying and asked, "If the uncle goes first, do you think His Majesty will be satisfied?"

Mu Ying said quickly, "General, it would be best if my uncle could go first. But my uncle must not be in danger. Please put the war first."

Xu Da understood, and said with a smile, "When the time comes, you and Lan Yu will lead your troops into the city first. Lan Yu is now under the command of the uncle of the emperor, right?"

Mu Ying said quickly, "Uncle Chang arranged for General Lan to serve under my uncle, and now he is doing his best."

Xu Da arranged it and said, "When the time comes, you two will lead the troops into the city first. Zhang Liangchen has not been caught yet. You two must capture Zhang Liangchen and his son, so that you can get credit."

Ma Xun was not a fool, but he felt that this was too embarrassing. "General, this is not a good thing to do. The generals have been besieging Qingyang for a long time, how can you let me take the credit for nothing?"

Xu Da smiled and said, "Now the generals are competing for merit, and it would be best if the uncle of the emperor gets the military merit."

Afraid that Ma Xun and Mu Ying didn't understand, Xu Da said, "Feng Zongyi was the first to achieve merit, and Gu Shi was the second. Now they are both vying for the credit of breaking the city and being the first to reach the top. Tang He, Fu Youde and others are also vying for credit."

Xu Da looked at Ma Xun and said, "It is most appropriate for you to take the credit now, and Feng Zongyi has to be suppressed. You are the Queen's brother, and others have to obey you even if they don't want to."

Mu Ying quickly asked, "General, what happened to General Feng?"

Feng Zongyi, also known as Feng Sheng, was the younger brother of Feng Guoyong, Zhu Yuanzhang's early military advisor. If Feng Guoyong had not died of a sudden illness in the army, Chang Yuchun, Xu Da and others would have been suppressed.

Xu Da said angrily, "Young people who are successful will be arrogant. Now that he has made such a great contribution, what is there that he dare not do?"

Ma Xun listened quietly, and suddenly seemed to understand something.

Feng Sheng was one of the six founding dukes and was also sentenced to death by Zhu Yuanzhang. Many people felt sorry for him.

But there was a reason why Feng Sheng was suspected by Zhu Yuanzhang. Not to mention that he had privately exchanged letters with his son-in-law Zhu Su, who was enfeoffed as a fief, many times in history, which was a big taboo.

Moreover, in history, when he conquered Nahachu of Liaodong, he secretly kept many good horses, asked Nahachu's wife to accompany him for drinking, demanded treasures, and fell out with another son-in-law Chang Mao. The two of them complained and exposed each other in front of the emperor. There was another thing that was Zhu Yuanzhang's knot, that is, if nothing unexpected happened, after this battle of Qingyang, Xu Da returned to Beijing and Feng Sheng stayed in Qingyang to take charge of the military affairs of Gansu and Shaanxi and control all the armies.

As a result, General Feng Sheng thought that Gansu and Shaanxi had been secured and returned to Guanzhong directly, and many soldiers froze to death on the way. This led to the siege of Lanzhou, but fortunately Zhang Wen defended the city.

Which emperor would not be angry when a general commanding more than 100,000 troops led his troops back without the emperor's order?
It would have been fine if nothing had happened afterwards, but the main thing was that since Feng Sheng started following Zhu Yuanzhang, he would inevitably make mistakes after every battle and every time he made a contribution. This happened more than once or twice.

Xu Da looked at Ma Xun and said with a smile, "Brother, is Lao Chang really okay?"

"It's okay. They've probably all returned to Beijing now." Ma Xun said with a smile, "After a few months of recuperation, he will definitely be a fierce general again."

Xu Da said with emotion, "General Feng fell ill suddenly in his early years. I still feel regretful when I think about it now. If I had been in the army at that time, I would definitely have been able to save him."

Mu Ying also hurriedly said, "And Uncle Yu, my uncle will definitely be able to save him."

Ma Xun felt a lot of pressure in an instant, he was not a miracle doctor!
Xu Da looked at Ma Xun and said, "Do you know why His Majesty wants you to make achievements?"

Seeing Ma Xun shaking his head, Xu Da said, "Most of the soldiers are loyal to Your Majesty, but everyone has their own selfish desires. Although Yu Tingyu and Yu Tonghai are dead, there is still Yu Tongyuan. Deng Yu, Liao Yongan, Liao Yongzhong and others all led more than 10,000 troops to surrender to Your Majesty in Hexian County."

Seeing that Ma Xun still didn't quite understand, Xu Da continued, "Let's not talk about Kang Maocai, Fu Youde and others who came later. Mei Sizu, Han Zheng, Zhu Liangzu and others also led their people to join us later."

Ma Xun vaguely understood what Xu Da meant, which is that there are many military leaders in the Ming Dynasty military now.

Xu Da said with emotion, "When I saw you, I thought of Wen Zheng. He was so confused!"

Mu Ying lowered his head and said nothing. Like Xu Da and Li Wenzhong, he felt very sorry for some things that happened to Zhu Wenzhen.

Xu Da said directly, "In the early years, Wen Zheng was the Grand Commander, and Your Majesty used this to control the military power. We are now nothing more than the left and right commanders, and the deputy commanders. I think the person who will lead the affairs of the Grand Commander's Office in the future will be Baoer or my younger brother."

Ma Xun quickly said, "General, I don't know much about military affairs, you all know that."

"It doesn't matter if you don't know military affairs, as long as we can fight." Xu Da looked at Ma Xun and said, "The Northern Expedition is about to be successful. If you don't make more military achievements, how can you manage the Grand Commandery?"

Ma Xun cried, "I really don't understand military affairs. I don't even understand how to march."

Xu Da said bluntly, "If you figure out all that, and have the same ability as Wen Zheng, you can become a Grand Commander in the future. So what? I heard that you are engaged, and that you have a child, and the queen has taken him back to the palace to raise him, and gave him a mansion to keep him under house arrest?"

Ma Xun's heart skipped a beat. It turns out that not knowing anything about military affairs is actually a good thing?

Xu Da suddenly asked, "I heard that you often go to play with those boys from the Chang family, why don't you take my Yun Gong to play?"

Ma Xun immediately said, "It's far away, and my sister-in-law won't let Yun Gong go to my place."

Xu Da sighed. Although he and Zhu Wenzhen were of different generations, they were only four years apart in age and were brothers-in-law.

But there are some things that really are not worth discussing.

Xu Da said, "After the battle of Qingyang, you and I will definitely return to the capital. I will bring Yun Gong to your house more often. You and I have similar personalities and we will definitely get along well. Lao Chang is a rough man."

Although this was Xu Da's first time meeting Ma Xun, he had heard many things about him.

The most important thing is that he understood the personalities of the emperor and the empress and knew how they treated their relatives.

Li Zhen, the "eldest brother-in-law", did not need to be taken care of. Xu Da and others were taken care of by Li Zhen. But Ma Xun was different. These brothers had to take care of him and visit him more.

This is a favor that will save your life in the future, and it is also a resource left for future generations!
(End of this chapter)