Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 204 The fourth brother must have been beaten badly by Jinglong, right?
"Yes, you're right, girl. Jinglong is about to unleash his full power in the upcoming battle!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Empress Ma and nodded vigorously, speaking in a serious tone.

Actually, I was already trying to suppress my laughter.

The more excited his little sister is right now, the more bewildered she'll be when she hears about what Jinglong has done.

It will definitely be a big surprise for your little sister.

Upon hearing what Zhu Yuanzhang said, Empress Ma immediately perked up and urged him to speak quickly.

She needed to see quickly what kind of miraculous battle Jinglong had fought.

This is a way to witness the birth of our own Great Ming War God, such an extraordinary figure.

This was an absolutely momentous event for her, for the Ming Dynasty, and for the entire history books.

It’s exciting just to think about it.

Meanwhile, Empress Ma had already made a decision in her heart.

In the future, they will look for opportunities to provide Jinglong with better training.

Such an outstanding individual would be a great loss if we did not pay attention to him and nurture him.

Given Jinglong's talent, further training would undoubtedly make him even more outstanding.

That was the Great War God of the Ming Dynasty!

"Sister, our fourth brother didn't rest after taking Beiping City. In the following period of time, he quickly started a series of actions."

On the sixth day of the seventh lunar month, Tongzhou surrendered voluntarily. On the eighth day of the seventh lunar month, Jizhou was captured, and Zunhua and Miyun surrendered.

On July 11, Juyong Pass was breached; on July 16, Huailai was breached, and Song Zhong and others were captured and killed; on July 18, Yongping Prefecture surrendered.

On July 27, in order to prevent the Daning army from launching a surprise attack on Beiping from Songting Pass, a counter-espionage plot was used to cause infighting within Songting Pass, and the garrison commander Bu Wan was imprisoned.

With this, the area surrounding Beiping was completely cleared, and the fourth prince's forces had increased to tens of thousands..."

Empress Ma was naturally delighted that her fourth son had achieved so much in such a short time.

However, at the same time, many concerns remain.

It was certainly surprising that the fourth brother could achieve such success at the beginning.

But upon closer reflection, it doesn't seem surprising at all.

After all, the fourth prince had already been enfeoffed in Beiping a long time ago.

Over the years, they have built up considerable influence in Beiping.

Furthermore, as we know from Chongba's previous account, since Tiande's death, the fourth prince has been a pillar of strength there, guarding the frontier.

In this situation, the people there became even more obedient to the fourth son.

In addition, the fourth brother's actions were rather sudden, indicating that he had been prepared for this matter.

Such an achievement is not surprising.

What's truly worrying is the court's subsequent reaction.

The fourth prince had been secretly preparing for a long time, but how could the imperial court not have made preparations?

They've wanted to kill the fourth brother for a long time.

Once news of the fourth prince's situation gets out, the imperial court will undoubtedly employ even more powerful measures to suppress him.

Empress Ma, having followed Zhu Yuanzhang through the chaotic times, naturally understood what it took to win a war.

In a battle, or even a small-scale skirmish, relying on surprise attacks or other unconventional tactics can indeed have a decisive effect.

However, what Lao Si is facing now is not something that can be decided in one or two matches.

That was a protracted process.

This kind of battle cannot be won by winning one or two unexpected victories.

More importantly, it requires a contest of manpower and resources between the two sides.

The competition is about who has more land, more people, and more supplies... These factors have a huge impact!

A nation with strong national power can withstand countless failures and start over.

However, those countries with weak domestic strength simply cannot afford to lose or afford to prolong the war.

Even a hero can be brought down by a penny, and the same applies to war.

Food for people and horses, weapons and armor—everything that comes with the movement of an army costs countless sums of money, which are spent like water.

In this respect, the fourth prince was far, far inferior to the imperial court.

The imperial court doesn't need to do anything else; it only needs to send a large army to hold off the fourth prince and wear him down!
"In July of the first year of Jianwen's reign, the fourth prince sent a letter of rebellion to Nanjing. Zhu Yunwen, that beast, offered sacrifices at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, stripped Zhu Di of his imperial clan membership, demoted him to a commoner, and decided to raise an army to attack Yan."

The Pingyan Provincial Administration Commission was established in Zhending.

When Zhu Yuanzhang said this, he was somewhat resentful.

That beast Zhu Yunwen still has the nerve to come to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices. He's just pretending that his own people have died and that he knows nothing about it.

If I had any knowledge of this in the afterlife, and if I still had a breath left, I would smash his dog's head to pieces!
"Zhu Yunwen appointed Geng Bingwen, the Marquis of Changxing, as Grand General, Li Jian, the Imperial Son-in-Law and Commander-in-Chief, as Left Deputy General, and Ning Zhong, the Commander-in-Chief, as Right Deputy General, leading an army of 130,000 to attack Yan."

They advanced along multiple routes, boasting an army of millions.

At the same time, proclamations were sent to the three provinces of Shandong, Henan, and Shanxi to order the supply of military funds.

Why is it Geng Bingwen?
Empress Ma was taken aback when she heard what Zhu Yuanzhang said.

It's not that Geng Bingwen wasn't capable, but shouldn't the court have been extremely cautious and attached great importance to the matter of the fourth prince's uprising?

Geng Bingwen was also quite capable, especially skilled at defending cities.

However, compared to people like Tiande, Bao'er, and Feng Sheng, they are still far inferior.

Even by then, Tiande, Bao'er, Feng Sheng, and others had all passed away.

But there are still two children, Lian Lanyu and Mu Ying.

At this time, neither Lan Yu nor Mu Ying had been granted a title of nobility.

However, Empress Ma had great confidence in the two of them and knew their abilities.

Given their abilities, surpassing Geng Bingwen would not be a problem.

Besides, by that time, Geng Bingwen would be in his seventies, right?

If it were someone like Tiande, leading troops in his seventies, there would be nothing to criticize.

However, Geng Bingwen is indeed quite old.

In such a critical situation, instead of sending out the most capable people, they actually sent out Geng Bingwen.

This is like putting out a fire; the smaller the fire, the easier it is to put out.

As the fire progresses, once it starts burning, it becomes increasingly difficult to extinguish.

Empress Ma wanted to ask her son, Zhu Chongba, why Zhu Yunwen and his side hadn't sent Lan Yu or Mu Ying over.

But she swallowed those words back down.

On the one hand, she was more interested in knowing how the Great Ming War God was born.

On the other hand, it was Zhu Yunwen who became emperor.

It's no surprise that a fool like Zhu Yunwen would do anything.

Perhaps, this is the most reasonable approach...

"...Geng Bingwen led his army to Zhengding on August 12, and divided his troops in Hejian and Xiongxian of Mozhou, forming a pincer movement."

After observation, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Yan army launched a surprise attack on Xiong County.

After their success, they ambushed and defeated the reinforcements from Mozhou, thus capturing Mozhou and incorporating the remaining troops.

Geng Bingwen's subordinate Zhang Baolai surrendered and informed the fourth brother that Geng Bingwen's troops were stationed on both sides of the Hutuo River.

So the fourth brother told him to go back and tell Geng Bingwen that he had suffered a great defeat in Xiongxian and Mozhou and that the Yan army was about to arrive, so as to demoralize them and make Geng Bingwen unite his troops so that they could be defeated in one fell swoop.

Geng Bingwen indeed moved the troops from the south bank across the river.

On August 24, the Yan army arrived at Wuji County.

Learning of the enemy's situation from woodcutters and captured Southern soldiers, the Yan army launched a decisive battle.

In August of the first year of the Jianwen reign, the Southern Army commander arrived in the Hutuo River region of Hebei.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival night, taking advantage of the Southern army's drinking and revelry, the fourth brother broke through Xiongxian, annihilating the Southern army's vanguard, and then inflicted a major defeat on the main force of the Southern army on the north bank of the Hutuo River.

Geng Bingwen led his remaining troops, numbering less than 100,000, to hold firm in Zhengding and refused to leave. The Yan army attacked the city for three days without success.

On August 29, the Yan army returned to Beiping.

After Gu Cheng surrendered to Yan, he stayed in Beiping to assist Zhu Gaochi, the heir apparent of Yan, in defending the city…

My fourth child has indeed matured through experience.

He was also very skilled in warfare; even veteran generals like Geng Bingwen were no match for him.

However, as long as Geng Bingwen retreats into the city, Zhu Yunwen can continue to let Geng Bingwen command the troops, and Geng Bingwen can still make things particularly difficult for the fourth prince.

After all, defending the city was Geng Bingwen's forte, his specialty.

But Empress Ma also knew that such a thing was simply impossible.

Judging from Zhu Yunwen's previous attempts to reduce the power of the princes, he was always in a great hurry each time.

Now, the fourth prince has clearly raised the banner of "Fengtian Jingnan".

So what Zhu Yunwen and the others wanted most was to eliminate the fourth prince as quickly as possible.

Geng Bingwen's defeat and subsequent defense would certainly not be tolerated by the imperial court.

"That beast Zhu Yunwen, upon hearing of Geng Bingwen's defeat, appointed Jinglong as Grand General on Huang Zicheng's recommendation to replace Geng Bingwen in fighting against the Yan army. He also ordered Wu Gao, the Marquis of Jiangyin in Liaodong, to lead troops to besiege Yongping."

The fourth prince left a small number of soldiers to hold Beiping, while he personally led the main army to rescue Yongping…

Sure enough, what Zhu Yuanzhang said next immediately confirmed Empress Ma's suspicions.

Zhu Yunwen couldn't resist changing his general.

Upon hearing Li Jinglong's name, Empress Ma's spirits lifted.

Good! Good! Jinglong, the great war god of the Ming Dynasty, has finally made his appearance.

Next, you'll be able to see Jinglong display his great power!

However, I also felt a sense of curiosity and surprise.

Originally, she thought that Jinglong had stood on the side of the fourth prince from the beginning, fighting for him and making great contributions in the process of the fourth prince's successful ascension to the throne.

Who would have thought that Jinglong was initially on Zhu Yunwen's side?

However, it's understandable when you think about it, since Jinglong inherited the title of Duke of Cao from Bao'er.

Bao'er was Chongba's nephew, and according to seniority, Jinglong was Zhu Yunwen's cousin.

No one had expected that Zhu Yunwen would act so wickedly after becoming emperor.

The fourth prince had only just raised the banner of "Fengtian Jingnan" (a military campaign to quell the rebellion), so it was perfectly normal for Jinglong to obey Zhu Yunwen's orders from the court.

It seems that in the ensuing battle, Jinglong betrayed Zhu Yunwen, siding with the fourth prince and launching a major attack.

Empress Ma was not surprised by Emperor Jinglong's choice.

On the one hand, Jinglong and Lao Si are not much different in age, and the two have always had a good relationship.

In many instances, Jinglong was practically the fourth brother's little follower.

On the other hand, Zhu Yunwen was foolish in his actions.

After ascending the throne, he did many foolish things.

For example, they drastically elevated the status of civil officials while suppressing military generals.

Jinglong is a legitimate military officer, so it's perfectly normal for him to be dissatisfied with such matters...

"Jinglong arrived in Dezhou, Shandong, gathered Geng Bingwen's scattered troops, and mobilized troops from various routes, totaling 500,000, to advance and garrison in Hejian."

When the fourth brother learned of Li Jinglong's military deployment, he laughed and said, "There are five ways to lose in military strategy, and Li Jinglong has committed them all. His army is bound to be defeated."

The first defeat was the failure to enforce government orders, which led to disunity between superiors and subordinates. The second defeat was the inadequacy of the troops to adapt to the frosty and snowy climate of Beiping, coupled with insufficient supplies.

Disregarding risks and ease, and venturing deep into areas seeking profit, these are the three reasons for defeat.

An eagerness to win, stubbornness, and a lack of wisdom, integrity, benevolence, and courage—these are the four reasons for defeat.

His troops are a disorganized rabble and lack unity; this is the fifth reason for his defeat!
In order to lure the Southern army deeper into the territory, the fourth prince decided to have Yao Guangxiao assist Prince Gao Chi of Yan in guarding Beiping, while he himself led a large army to rescue Yongping, which was being attacked by the Liaodong army.

He also warned Gao Chi: "When Li Jinglong comes, we should only hold our ground and not engage in battle."

At the same time, the fourth prince also withdrew the troops guarding Lugou Bridge…

Upon hearing this, Empress Ma couldn't help but put her hand to her forehead.

My own fourth son is really arrogant in this matter.

They made a terrible mistake and underestimated Li Jinglong.

Next, the careless and overconfident fourth brother will definitely be defeated by Jinglong.

If Zhu Yunwen hadn't done so many foolish and excessive things that made it difficult for anyone to be loyal to him...

I'm afraid Jinglong himself could easily defeat the fourth prince.

After all, this is the God of War of the Ming Dynasty!

……

The Yellow River has a really big problem, after all, this river has been ravaging the land for far too many years.

It's seriously dilapidated from years of neglect.

Completely controlling the Yellow River and solving its flood problems is by no means easy.

Xue Xiang can do routine repair work, such as clearing silt, reinforcing dikes, and repairing flood discharge areas and dams upstream and downstream.

However, these projects are extremely large and require a lot of manpower and resources.

With His Majesty's strong support, he doesn't need to worry too much about manpower and resources.

The key issue is that the Yellow River has just too much silt, making it extremely difficult to clean up!
If the progress is just slow, that's fine; eventually, it will be fixed.

The key issue is that even after they clean it up, the Yellow River will continue to carry a lot of silt and sand back to it.

Much of the silt remained on the riverbed.

What he is considering now is how to solve this problem at its root.

Otherwise, it would have taken so much effort to get it under control.

Only a decade or two later, the Yellow River silted up again, causing breaches in the dikes and floods in other places.

Once this happens, even if others don't say anything, he himself will feel guilty.

He had no face to ask His Majesty for the ancestral hall that was built for him.

The Dujiangyan Irrigation System, built by Li Bing and his son, is over a thousand years old.

The Dujiangyan Irrigation System remains highly functional, serving as a diversion and flood control system, as well as an irrigation system, protecting Chengdu.

That's why Li Bing and his son are still celebrated by people today, and that's why they deserve to be worshipped in temples.

Even with His Majesty's strong support, Xue Xiang's efforts to manage the Yellow River can only guarantee results for one or two decades.

Soon after, the Yellow River will be blocked by silt and overflow its banks again, causing countless deaths.

Then even the temple of someone who controls the floods might be torn down!

Standing there, they did not receive incense offerings, but rather various insults and humiliations.

That would no longer be his glory, but would forever nail him to the pillar of shame!

That is precisely why Xue Xiang is so distressed.

Faced with such a major challenge as managing the Yellow River, much of his previous experience in river management became useless.

He understands and can use the usual methods for river management, but the most crucial thing is that they cannot be used for hundreds or thousands of years like the Dujiangyan Irrigation System.

He wanted to build a project similar to the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, to solve the Yellow River problem once and for all and completely eradicate it.

From the moment I received this task until now, I haven't had a really good idea.

The situation is different between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. On the Yangtze River side, we only need to consider things like diverting the flow, releasing floodwaters, and reinforcing the dikes.

However, in the Yellow River basin, in addition to these factors, we also need to consider a large amount of silt.

This is the most troublesome part.

To solve this problem, he didn't work in isolation; he also conducted various interviews and solicited opinions widely, in addition to reflecting on the issue himself.

Xue Xiang himself was already considered to be among the best in the world today in terms of his ability to manage water resources.

It's difficult for others to offer any useful advice on this.

It is especially difficult to come up with fundamental and useful suggestions.

After sitting here and thinking for quite a while...

Xue Xiang began to write.

He wasn't writing down his ideas for managing the Yellow River; rather, he wanted to inform His Majesty of the problem he was facing and request that His Majesty seek out skilled water management experts throughout the country to solicit their opinions and gather collective wisdom.

Let's see if we can find a really good way to solve this problem once and for all.

Xue Xiang naturally knew how much of an impact such a memorial would have on him.

This is tantamount to directly admitting his incompetence to His Majesty, and it is tantamount to relinquishing his position as the chief person in charge of river management to a large extent.

His long-cherished dream of controlling the Yellow River may very well be taken by someone else.

However, after several days of deliberation, he finally decided to submit this memorial to His Majesty.

He certainly wanted to achieve great merit in controlling the river and wanted to forever link his name with the management of the Yellow River.

We aspire to be like the ancient sages Li Bing and his son, revered for generations, with their incense burning continuously for over a thousand years.

However, river management is a major issue concerning the country and its people.

His Majesty trusts him so much, entrusting him with such an important task.

Faced with this situation, even if he wanted these titles and honors, he could not delay His Majesty's grand plan because of his own selfish desires!

In that case, he would be a sinner for all time!

The memorial was quickly written, and Xue Xiang ordered it to be sent to Yingtian by fast horse.

Watching the person leave with the memorial, Xue Xiang prayed silently in his heart.

Hopefully, this approach will lead to a better solution for managing the Yellow River.

However, after such a thought arose in his mind, he felt very pessimistic.

Finding such a solution is incredibly difficult, and there's a high chance that my hopes will be dashed...

……

"Chongba, our fourth son, you're going to get a really bad beating from Jinglong, aren't you?"

Inside the Kunning Palace, Empress Ma couldn't help but look at Zhu Yuanzhang and ask him a question...

(End of this chapter)