The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 41 Arrangements are made
Ma Xun felt that his arrangements were clear. He was no longer a mere mascot, but was forced to do things again and again.

But there is no way around it, because he is the king's uncle, and this identity is enough to give him great influence.

As long as he didn't get into trouble, he would be rich and prosperous. Now he was the commander of the army and the general of the country, and he might be promoted to the title of governor someday.

It would not be surprising if he became the prime minister one day. The Hu Weiyong case was still a long way off and the prime minister system was still continuing.

When Zhu Yuanzhang was crowned the King of Wu, Xu Da was appointed as the Left Prime Minister of the Secretariat, and after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, he was appointed as the Right Prime Minister of the Secretariat. Chang Yuchun also had the title of "Zhongshu Pingzhang Lu Junguozhongshi", which was equivalent to the position of Prime Minister.

Deng Yu was the Imperial Censor and Liu Bowen's superior. Tang He was also the Imperial Tutor and taught the prince to read.

The military generals group in the early days of the founding of the country was extremely powerful, with the Huaixi nobles group as the core. This was the core force for Zhu Yuanzhang to establish the Ming Dynasty and unify the north and the south.

Whether it is Xu Da or Chang Yuchun, some of their official positions are the most direct proof that Zhu Yuanzhang was suppressing the civil service group in eastern Zhejiang.

Therefore, everything is possible. It is normal for Ma Xun, the uncle of the emperor, to be put in the spotlight and do things that seem to be "unworthy of his position".

Start preparing for the war, this is the real battlefield.

But before fighting, it is more important to recognize people.

Tang He walked into the central army tent carelessly and asked, "Tian De, where is my younger brother?"

Even though Tang He's military achievements are not as good as Xu Da's now, he has a special status. He is Zhu Yuanzhang's fellow townsman and childhood friend, and he is two years older than Zhu Yuanzhang. He is the elder brother of Xu Da and others.

Ma Xun quickly stood up and clasped his fists, "Ma Xun greets Brother Tang."

Tang He looked at Ma Xun and said happily, "The nephew looks like his uncle. The prince will definitely feel close to his uncle when he sees him."

Xu Da was too lazy to talk, and Tang He was outspoken more than once or twice. There was a reason for his nickname Tang Dazui, because he got carried away after drinking and joked that he could go to Zhang Shicheng when he was guarding Changzhou.

In other words, Zhu Yuanzhang trusted him and did not care about it, otherwise such remarks would inevitably be suspected.

Xu Da saw Tang He coming and asked, "Zhang Liangchen has not tried to break out from the east gate or the south gate yet, right?"

Tang He couldn't help but complain, "It was your arrangement that went wrong, allowing Feng Zongyi and Gu Shili to make the contribution. Tiande, if I can't be made a duke, it's all your fault!"

Xu Da smiled and said, "You can't blame me, blame yourself. Don't blame me for not reminding you, this side is connected to Sichuan and Shu, Mingsheng has not surrendered yet. Yunnan and Guizhou have not been pacified, and U-Tsang is still flirting with the Yuan court."

Tang He thought it made sense. It was highly unlikely that he would be granted the title of Duke during the first batch of awards. But there was still a chance. If he continued to make contributions, he would have the chance to become a Duke.

Xu Da then said, "It will be a matter of days before Qingyang is captured. I will ask Lan Yu and Mu Ying to go to the east gate. What do you think?"

Tang He was not happy at all, "Tian De, can't you let me try again?"

Xu Da raised his chin slightly towards Ma Xun.

Tang He suddenly lost his energy. "I really can't try this. But when the time comes, too many of my soldiers will be killed or injured. It will be hard to convince others if someone else takes the credit."

Xu Da said confidently, "Don't worry about that. There are people in the city to help."

Not only Tang He was stunned, even Ma Xun was stunned.

Xu Da explained, "You know the situation in Qingyang City, and the generals under Zhang Liangchen also know that there is no way to retreat. Now Yao Hui, Xiong Zuocheng, and Hu Zhiyuan are willing to open the city gates."

What else is there to say? Everything has been arranged in an orderly manner. Ma Xun just needs to take the credit.

Tang He said, "Then I will take my brothers back and wait for them to open the city gates and surrender. I will arrange for Lan Yu and his men to rush into the city first."

Xu Da smiled and refused, "Your Majesty has said that the prince can only stay in my central army tent and can only be with me."

Tang He was very angry and disappointed, and immediately asked, "Little brother, have you ever been to my house?"

"The Crown Prince took me there before, and Tang Ding and his brothers also came to my house when I moved to a new house." Ma Xun said, "But Tang Nai was naughty and was spanked a few times by Chang's sister-in-law."

Tang He was immediately depressed, "This Tang Nai is really outrageous, he is not young anymore, I should go back and deal with him." Then Tang He said to Ma Xun, "Brother, I helped to defeat Chen Youding in Fujian, and I think it was my contribution that made you come back. Remember, don't just think about the Chang family, your brother-in-law and I have known each other since childhood."

He has no merits, and for now, he has no abilities other than the reputation of a 'miracle doctor'.

But in the eyes of the people of Huaixi, Ma Xun was definitely one of their own and an extremely popular person because his sister was the queen.

After Tang He left, Ma Xun asked, "General, after the battle of Qingyang, should we return to the capital?"

Xu Da replied, "The army cannot return. You and I must return to the court."

Ma Xun immediately asked, "Who will be in charge of the army? Bao'er is still in Mayi, and Brother Chang has returned to Beijing. Could it be Governor Feng?"

The current Northern Expedition army is led by Xu Da, followed by Chang Yuchun, then Li Wenzhong, and back of them are Feng Sheng, Tang He, and Yang Jing.

Xu Da asked, "Is there anything wrong?"

"I heard that Governor Feng is young and promising, decisive in his actions, and particularly good at fighting." Ma Xun said, "But I also heard that such people may have a bad temper and have their own ideas."

Ma Xun's words were euphemistic, but Xu Da said, "Don't worry, he has no ulterior motives."

I knew he had no ulterior motives, but I was worried that he would take the initiative to lead the army back. I was worried that this would lead to the siege of Lanzhou and the death of the general.

Ma Xun asked again, "General, if you return to Beijing, Wang Baobao will definitely want to invade. What will you do then?"

Xu Da couldn't help but look at Ma Xun a few more times, and said confidently, "Don't worry, little brother, these things have been arranged. After the battle of Qingyang, I will send troops to hunt down and drive away the rest of the troops. All the checkpoints will be under the control of our army."

There was nothing wrong with Xu Da's arrangement. Even if he left here, there would be no problem in continuing to stay here.

Even if Wang Baobao wanted to attack, it would be enough to defend. As long as Xu Da took command again next year, Wang Baobao would not be able to gain a foothold in Ningxia.

As for why they did not pursue the victory, it was mainly because the battle lasted too long. The Battle of Qingyang lasted for three months, and the Northern Expedition started the year before last. After continuous hard and fierce battles, the soldiers also needed rest.

On the other hand, it is naturally autumn, and the army must consider wintering, as winter in the north is not easy.

Ma Xun thought that it would be better not to think too far ahead for now and to first capture Qingyang and drive Zhang Liangchen's He Zongzhe further away.

We’ll talk about some things after the war after the war.

After taking Qingyang and cleaning up the battlefield, we will consider a series of matters related to returning to the capital.

After a short rest, the war started again and the Ming army continued to intensify the siege of Qingyang.

Tang He issued an order, ordering Lan Yu and Mu Ying to lead 5,000 cavalry to prepare. Once there was an opportunity to rush into Qingyang, they must be decisive and make sure to capture Zhang Liangchen and his son alive.

Lan Yu and Mu Ying were a little depressed. How could cavalry attack a city?
However, amid the shouts and roars of cannons, the east gate of Qingyang City was slowly opened.

Lan Yu immediately cheered up, "Follow me and fight!"

Mu Ying immediately raised his gun and pointed it at the city gate, "Follow me to capture the city!"

Ma Xun was completely numb. Although he knew that some things were arranged by Xu Da, he just thought, wasn't this drama a bit too much?

Zhang Liangchen's generals opened the gate and surrendered, and in an instant the Qingyang defenders lost their last bit of strength to resist.

Lan Yu appeared happily escorting the captives, "General, Zhang Liangchen and his son wanted to commit suicide by jumping into a well, but we pulled them out before they were dead. Let's wait for General Hou to decide!"

Xu Da looked at Zhang Liangchen coldly, who looked like a ghost, and gave an order, "You are so repetitive, behead him in public!"

The brutal battle of Qingyang was basically over. After Qingyang was captured, Xu Da immediately sent Fu Youde, Gu Shi and others to pursue He Zongzhe.

Now Shaanxi and Gansu have been completely taken over. We need to consider reporting our achievements to the imperial court and considering subsequent garrisons.

(End of this chapter)