Although it was said to be the destination, it wasn't actually Dadu. It was the Jining Prefecture of Lu that had been conquered after the decisive battle with the Yuan army commander Wang Baobao last year.
After Xu Da, Zhu Biao, and Chang Yuchun studied the battle map, they re-formulated the battle plan of encircling the Yuan Dynasty. They decided to use the occupied Lu as a springboard to recover Bianliang, the important town of Henan Province, and then lead the army north from Dezhou to Tongzhou to surround the Yuan Dynasty.
Moreover, there were 50,000 troops stationed in Jining. When Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were attending the founding ceremony, they were led by Deputy General Deng Yu to defend against the Yuan army's attack.
As for the 50,000-strong army, Zhu Yuanzhang had given Xu Da the authority to act as he pleased before the army set off, allowing him to mobilize Deng Yu's army according to the situation.
Outside of Jining City, the Jining Prefecture Magistrate was leading officials of all levels to stand outside the city gates, waiting eagerly.
"Lord Prefect, why haven't the Crown Prince and Duke Xu and Duke Chang arrived yet? Could your information be wrong?"
Magistrate Wang Zhiyuan stroked his beard and smiled.""A scout from the Northern Expedition Army informed General Deng Yu a day ago that General Deng Yu had already left the city to welcome him four hours ago. General Deng is an old friend of mine, so he specially sent someone to inform me to welcome you at the city gate as a grand gesture! He must have been delayed by something, right? Lu Tongpan, have some patience!"
Lu Tongpan nodded in agreement. He thought that he had to be patient. After all, this was a rare opportunity to meet the Crown Prince. Once he left a good impression on the Crown Prince, the new Jun would definitely rise to the top in the future. Therefore, it was worth it to stand there for a while.
It was worth mentioning that before the Qing Dynasty, officials would not be addressed as Lord. Lord was a respectful address for parents. It was only used when the rule of the foreign races collapsed, such as the Yuan Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty claimed to expel the Tartars and restore China, so he naturally disdained to address them as if they were random like the Yuan Dynasty. Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, no one would address officials as adults for more than 200 years. They would usually address them as surnames, official positions, or local officials.
The officials of Jining Prefecture had been waiting at the city gate for a full six hours. The sun was almost setting, but they still saw people. They had all arrived early in the morning. Some of them had woken up late and had not eaten breakfast. Now that they had not had food or water for nearly a day, their bodies were so weak that they could not hold on any longer. They were on the verge of fainting.
Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves could be heard.
Magistrate Wang's spirits were lifted, and he called out to the people beside him in a low voice,"Everyone, cheer up. The crown prince is here!”
The few of them adjusted their official robes and raised their heads in anticipation. However, when the sound of horse hooves approached, they saw that it was General Deng Yu and a few personal guards.
"General Deng, why are you here? Where's the Crown Prince, Duke Xu, and Duke Chang?”
Deng Yu said in a deep voice," Everyone, there's no need to wait. The Crown Prince, Duke Xu, and Duke Chang won't be entering the city. Please return!"”After saying that, he didn't even get off his horse and hurriedly rushed to the General's Estate in the city with his men.
Duke Xu gave a new order. He wanted him to lead 50,000 troops from Jining and another 30,000 troops from the Northern Expedition to attack Nanyang. The main force of the Northern Expedition would quickly rush to Bianliang. Then, the two sides would advance in two ways and coordinate with each other. With these two places as the main point, they would radiate from east to west and quickly take down the entire Henan Province.
On a hill outside Jining City, Zhu Biao watched the soldiers set up camp and cook with a heavy heart.
The further north they went, the more desolate it became. When they entered the territory of Lu, they found that most of the houses were empty, especially outside Jining City. Large areas of farmland were barren. The villages that their army had encountered were basically devoid of living people. Some rivers were filled with dense white bones, and some people died with bloated stomachs. Xu Da said that these people must have eaten Guanyin clay to death.
The hometown of Confucius and Mencius was like hell on earth.
The eight guards of the Guards Division stood quietly around Zhu Biao as a guard.
Xu Da and Chang Yuchun came over together.
Xu Da saw that Zhu Biao was standing against the wind with a heavy expression, and he could guess the reason. After hesitating for a moment, he said,"Crown Prince, after all, we only regained Lu Land at the end of last year. These sins were all caused by the Yuan army. The area under the control of the Yuan Dynasty has shrunk drastically. Moreover, they have to rely on their 100,000-strong army to fight against us. They will definitely increase the exploitation of the people in the ruling area. I estimate that they will plunder more than three feet of the land. Many people's rations have been robbed, and their grain seeds have also been snatched away. The Yuan Dynasty soldiers treat us Han people like livestock. They will not show any mercy when they kill us. Perhaps in their eyes, the more they kill, the more food they will have!”
Chang Yuchun opened his mouth and said in a muffled voice,""Back then, our parents also died from eating Guanyin clay. Later on, we went to seek refuge with the Green Forest Bandit Liu Ju and drank big bowls of wine and ate big mouthfuls of meat!”
"So, Chang Shiwan, you mean that these commoners should learn from you and become thieves?”Zhu Biao couldn't help but turn around and tease Chang Yuchun.
After spending half a month together, the two of them had long forgotten about their past and got along quite well.
Chang Yuchun scratched his breastplate and said in a deep voice,""What I want to say is that the sooner our Northern Expedition Army takes down Yu Province, takes down most of the cities, and takes down the 16 prefectures of Yanyun, the fewer people in the north will die of suffocation!”
"Yes, Minister Chang, you're right!" Zhu Biao took a deep breath. After all, this was the first time he had seen such a tragic scene. He was a little touched. In the past, he used to say that there was a phrase called "starving everywhere." This time, he had a more intuitive understanding of this phrase.
"Alright, Minister Xu and Minister Chang, I am fine now. Let's go back and discuss the military situation. We will leave early tomorrow and rush to Bianliang City as soon as possible!”
Xu Da smiled." Actually, the Crown Prince can enter the city to have a good meal and rest. I believe Magistrate Wang has already prepared it!"”
"If they have such thoughts, why don't they ponder over how to restore Jining City's prosperity as soon as possible?" Zhu Biao said calmly.”He was not in the mood to deal with these local officials today.
Returning to the deputy commander's tent, Zhu Biao picked up his pen and wrote a memorial." On the way here, I found that the population in the north was sparse, especially in the newly recovered areas such as Lu and Yu Provinces. I expect that the situation would be even worse in Yanyun and other places. In view of this, I suggest that after the victory of this war, father could move millions of people in the south here to enrich the people's strength and encourage fertility..."
After writing the memorial, the Crown Prince had the people of the Guards Division secretly send it back. He believed that the Guards Division definitely had their own channels of transmission.
Zhu Biao then sat alone in the tent. He took out his sniper rifle from his Dimensional Pocket and started to clean it up. Then, he reloaded the bullets. He wanted to kill a few more Yuan Dynasty soldiers in Bianliang City to vent his anger.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。