Shan Anren was already sixty-four years old this year. His hair and beard were all white, his skin was loose, and his old face was full of wrinkles. He had joined Zhu Yuanzhang at the age of fifty-two, and it had been more than ten years since then.
He had served as Zhejiang Provincial Judge, and then as the Left Secretary of the Wu King's shogunate. When the country was founded, he was first appointed Minister of the Ministry of Works by the Minister of Jia Yi, and ten days ago, he was appointed Minister of War by Zhu Yuanzhang.
Dan Anren was already old and frail. Sometimes, he could barely stand standing in court for too long. But now, he was kneeling on the ground, holding the report high above his head with both hands. His face was red, and his voice was full of vigor. He did not look like an old man in his sixties at all.
"Annihilate 170,000 enemies? Heavens, this is really out of my expectations. The Mengyuan Imperial Court only has around 200,000 soldiers now. Previously, Xu Da and I Biao 'er joined forces to force them to surrender 80,000 soldiers. Now, they have taken care of another 170,000 soldiers. Hahaha!"
Li Shan Chang was also very shocked by Shan Anren's report. It had only been half a month since the Northern Expedition Army's successful attack on Bianliang City, yet another great victory had been won! Moreover, the battle results were even more brilliant than last time.
" Congratulations on your ascension. The Mengyuan Imperial Court has lost 170,000 soldiers this time. Most importantly, even the famous minister of the Mengyuan, Wang Baobao, has been captured by our army." After this battle, the Mengyuan Imperial Court would only exist in name. It was only a matter of time before the ascension to rule the world!”
"Right, right, right. Even Wang Baobao was captured. This is even happier than Meng Yuan losing 170,000 soldiers. I've fought Wang Baobao before. He's good at both literature and martial arts. He's good at governing the country and the army. As long as he's here, Meng Yuan will never die. Now that he has been captured by our army, let's see who Emperor Yuan Shun can count on!”
Lee Shan Chang stroked his beard and smiled. He bowed and said,""However, this is not what makes this old minister the happiest!”He paused for a moment and said passionately,"What makes this old minister the happiest is that the Crown Prince has been blessed with great fortune. He can achieve such peerless achievements on his first expedition with the army. This means that my name will be passed down from generation to generation! This old minister congratulates you!"
"Look at the Crown Prince, then look at this minister's good-for-nothing son. To be honest, this old minister is a little jealous of the position!”
"Hahahahaha!" Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily when he heard this. He pointed at Li Shanchang and scolded him with a smile,"Good sir, as expected, you're the best at talking and understanding my thoughts. Not bad, you're right. Compared to other things, our Biao 'er has given us such a big surprise on his first expedition, which makes us the happiest!”
"Bowen, is our son alright?”Zhu Yuanzhang was now like a parent of an ordinary family. His son had achieved results, so he naturally took pride in his son and became a fanatic who wanted to hear others praise Zhu Biao.
Liu Bowen stood at the side and bowed, his expression indifferent."Emperor, the Crown Prince is indeed smart and capable. He will definitely be a wise ruler in the future!”
Zhu Yuanzhang wasn't too happy listening to these two dry sentences, but he also knew that Liu Bowen's personality was like this. He was aloof and proud. It was good enough to praise him a few times. Although he was good at strategizing and predicting things, he could never be as considerate as Li Shanchang.
"Dove, tell me!" Zhu Yuanzhang called out Shan Anren's name again.
Dan Anren muttered," Your Highness is a genius. You have such achievements at the age of thirteen. This old minister has searched through the history books, but there is no one like you!”
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with satisfaction." Come on, bring us the report. We want to see how Xu Da and Biao Er fought this battle!"”
The guards of the Guards Division walked towards Dan Anren.
"Hurry up! Can't you jog? Is there something wrong with your leg?" Zhu Yuanzhang scolded impatiently.
"The guards of the Public Guards Division were shocked. He wasn't slow just now, but there are rules in the palace. You have to follow the steps and can't run around at will because running and running are connected. It's unlucky to run in the palace because only rebellious ministers or enemy countries need to run.
But now that the Emperor was angry, how could the guards still dare to walk step by step?
He hastened his steps and took the report from Shan Anren. Then, he jogged over to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang snatched it over and opened the report to read it. He was overjoyed and laughed out loud. After reading it for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang said with a sigh and pride,"Shan Chang, we still underestimated Biao Er. This report was written by the commander of the Northern Expedition, Xu Da. It details how they expanded Shengguo and wiped out the main force of the Mengyuan army in one fell swoop. It turns out that this strategy of luring the enemy to attack and waiting for fatigue was proposed by Biao Er.”
"So this is also the Crown Prince's plan?" Li Shan Zhang asked in shock.”
"Here, you're the Right Prime Minister, take a look too!”
Liu Bowen was also very surprised. The last time the Crown Prince offered a plan to take down Bianliang City could be said to be a coincidence, but the two consecutive wonderful plans showed true talent.
After reading it, Lee Shan Chang praised Zhu Biao again, saying that the Crown Prince's military talent was comparable to Huo Piao Yao's.
Huo Piao Yao was a famous general during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. His real name was Huo Qubing. At the age of 17, he had shown extraordinary military talent. He was appointed by Emperor Wu as a lieutenant of Piao Yao and followed Wei Qing to attack the Xiongnu. In the first battle, he led light cavalry deep into the grasslands and raided the nest of the Xiongnu Chanyu. Emperor Wu conferred him the title of Champion Marquis. After that, he went on three expeditions to the Xiongnu and was granted the title of Wolf Juxu. The Xiongnu cried for their parents and no longer dared to covet the Central Plains. They could only go west to wreak havoc in Europe. Huo Qubing was already in his early 20s and had outstanding achievements. Unfortunately, he died of a strange disease.
Therefore, describing a person with military talent as comparable to Huo Qubing was a very high evaluation.
"It's said that no father, no son, Biao 'er's military talents are all inherited from our Zhu Yuanzhang! Hahaha!" Zhu Yuanzhang stroked the beard on his upper lip, feeling pleased with himself.
There was a sudden silence in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Li Shan Chang's endless praise was also stuck in his throat. Liu Bowen and Shan Anren felt a little embarrassed, thinking that the Emperor really knew how to flatter themselves.
Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little embarrassed after saying this. He changed the topic with a straight face and said,"Alright, at the back of Xu Da's report, there's also a joint report by the Crown Prince and him regarding the arrangement of the captives. Bowen, Devin, you two should also take a look. Anyway, I feel that this method has lit up my eyes. It's a good idea!”
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