Chapter 19 10. Plan to cross the river and take advantage of the victory to pull out peace

Zhu Yuanzhang's development in Hezhou was just right, and Sun Deya came to interfere in the name of borrowing grain.Guo Zixing also came after hearing the news, and the two started fighting in Hezhou. In the end, Sun Deya left Hezhou, and Guo Zixing died in the fighting spirit with Sun Deya. Without Guo Zixing, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Guo Tianxu was not his opponent, and he could justifiably become independent.However, although Guo Zixing died, Sun Deya still hated Zhu Yuanzhang because of his unhappiness in Hezhou, and wanted to kill Zhu Yuanzhang.After thinking about it, Sun Deya didn't have any good schemes, so he used a Hongmen Banquet to lure Zhu Yuanzhang into Haozhou City on the pretext of hosting a banquet, and tried to kill him in the city.Zhu Yuanzhang naturally had no reason not to go, but Sun Deya was not Zhu Yuanzhang's opponent, and his plan failed, and he lost his life instead.After Sun Deya's death, Zhao Junyong almost controlled the military power of Haozhou City, and he did not want to be attached to Haozhou any more. He led his army and horses to set up another mountain, and proclaimed himself King Yongyi.

The Red Turban Army in Haozhou gradually lost its morale due to the division of the marshals.Several parts of Sun Deya's team were taken by Zhao Junyong, and Guo Zixing's team also faced the problem of leader replacement.Logically speaking, after Guo Zixing's death, his military power should be taken over by his sons Guo Tianxu and Guo Tianjue. The problem is that he has a capable son-in-law Zhu Yuanzhang.After a series of incidents and attacks on Chuzhou and Hezhou, Zhu Yuanzhang's reputation in the army became higher and higher, and more and more subjects were recruited. He also recruited many talented generals, such as Li Shanchang, Feng Guoyong, Feng Guosheng, Hu Dahai, and Chang Yu Chun et al.

On the side of the Guo Tianxu brothers, of course they do not want military power to fall into Zhu Yuanzhang's hands.As soon as Guo Zixing died, the two brothers immediately appeased the soldiers and took various measures in an attempt to win people's hearts and establish prestige.In particular, Guo Tianxu, relying on the title of Marshal of the capital conferred by King Xiaoming, squeezed Zhu Yuanzhang, who was named the deputy marshal, and told Zhu Yuanzhang in a clear way that the Guo family army was surnamed Guo, and people surnamed Zhu should stay away. Faced with this situation, Zhu Yuanzhang was very distressed.He was a little bit dissatisfied with being appointed as Deputy Marshal Zuo by King Xiaoming, and his rank was lower than Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou, but thinking that he didn't value Han Liner's award, and no matter what he had to rely on, he could bear it in his heart .Zhu Yuanzhang has long been dissatisfied with the short-sightedness of Guo Zixing and other marshals, and has long planned to develop independently.It's just that Guo Zixing has just died, and the Guo family brothers exclude him so much, so he can't leave the Guo family to develop alone at this time in the name of inhumanity.In addition to patience, Zhu Yuanzhang is also looking for opportunities, looking for the right time to get rid of Guo Tianxu, and develop his own power in a legitimate way.

After waiting for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang began to feel a little anxious. The brothers Xu Da, Tang He and others around him couldn't understand how Guo Tianxu squeezed Zhu Yuanzhang so much.On the surface, Zhu Yuanzhang comforted them, saying that unity should be the most important thing, and they should not be divided.In fact, in his heart, he wanted to get rid of Guo Tianxu more than anyone else.Because, in the past six months, the rebel armies from all walks of life have developed rapidly. Only the Red Scarf Army on his side first fought among themselves, and then the marshals killed each other. Some soldiers and horses.If it does not develop, even if it is not wiped out by the Yuan Dynasty, it will be squeezed out by other insurgents sooner or later.The more important problem is that you can't cooperate with the Guo family brothers, and you can't get along with the Guo family members at all.Those people, including the old marshal in Haozhou City before, are people who only care about the immediate future and have no ambitions.

Chances are after the battle with the state.Not long ago, the Yuan army besieged Hezhou with heavy troops. Zhu Yuanzhang defended Hezhou with his outstanding military skills and repelled the Yuan army. Both Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou had to be in awe of Zhu Yuanzhang.But Zhu Yuanzhang seized the opportunity and expressed his opinion to the two that he would take advantage of the victory to cross the Yangtze River.Although Zhang Tianyou was not active, Guo Tianxu was quite moved by Zhu Yuanzhang's instigation, and Zhang Tianyou couldn't stick to his own opinion anymore. The southeast of Hezhou depends on the Yangtze River, and crossing the river is not too difficult. The problem is how to develop after crossing the river.Li Shanchang suggested to occupy Taiping first after crossing the Yangtze River, because after crossing the Yangtze River, Taiping is directly opposite. Taiping is adjacent to Wuhu in the south, Jiqing in the northeast, and Danyang Lake in the east.Danyang Town, Gaochun, Lishui, and Xuancheng in the Danyang Lake area are all rice-producing areas. As long as Taiping is occupied, the festival is just around the corner, and rice is produced in the nearby areas, and food and supplies are guaranteed. .

Zhu Yuanzhang recognized Li Shanchang's analysis very much, and decided to take peace first after crossing the river.Just when Zhu Yuanzhang was happy, Feng Guo reminded him with words: "Crossing the river requires at least a thousand boats, and it is difficult to build them for a while. Even if there are thousands of boats, it is difficult to travel without sailors." Everyone suddenly realized that this was the most critical issue. Zhu Yuanzhang discussed with civil and military officers day and night, but they had no good idea. Early the next morning, Feng Guo used to see Zhu Yuanzhang and said that he remembered a person who might be able to help.Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly asked who it was, and Feng Guoyong said: "Li Guosheng, the leader of the Chaohu water army." Li Guosheng was a disciple of Peng Yingyu.Prior to this, Li Guosheng had enmity with the local leaders of Luzhou, and asked Zhu Yuanzhang three times for help.Although Zhu Yuanzhang didn't take it to heart, he sent some people to help.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that he could only ask Li Guosheng for help at this time. To show his sincerity, he went to Chaohu to contact Li Guosheng himself.Zhu Yuanzhang urged Li Guosheng: "Nowadays there are heroes everywhere, and we are single and weak. If we don't unite, it may be difficult to develop. It is better for the two to work together to cross the river together and find a way out in the south of the Yangtze River." Zhu Yuanzhang also described the various forms and the situation in the south of the Yangtze River. Report to Li Guosheng.Li Guosheng also felt that living in Chaohu Lake for a long time and having constant disputes with local forces made it impossible to seek development, so he decided to work together to cross the river.At this time, it was the rainy season in May, and the rain was continuous, and the rivers and rivers were full of water, and the boats and ships could easily reach Hezhou.

On the first day of June in the twelfth year of Yuan Zhizheng (1352), Zhu Yuanzhang led Xu Da, Tang He, Shao Rong, Feng Guoyong, Chang Yuchun, Deng Yu, Li Shanchang and others to cross the river by wind and water. .When he arrived at the quarry first, Chang Yuchun acted as the vanguard and attacked the Yuan army directly. The Yuan army was suddenly attacked and was quickly defeated.Caishi was easily captured, and many Yuan soldiers were collected.Zhu Yuanzhang led the people to station in Caishi first, and then took advantage of the victory to attack Taiping. After only one day of rest, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to go straight to Taiping.Zhu Yuanzhang was worried that the soldiers had just crossed the river and had no intention of fighting again, and worried that they would miss their hometown, so he ordered the cables of the boats to be cut off and let the boats go along the rapids. Soon there were no boats on the river.Seeing this situation, the soldiers were flustered and didn't know why.Zhu Yuanzhang then summoned all the soldiers and said loudly: "Brothers, the Taiping Mansion is in front of us. Taiping's supplies are abundant. As long as the Taiping Mansion is captured, the supplies can be obtained at will." .

Zhu Yuanzhang's move is tantamount to looking forward to plum blossoms to quench thirst, inspiring people with the temptation ahead and arousing fighting spirit. The soldiers went all out to attack Taiping directly, and soon took Taiping down. The soldiers were about to loot the property in the city, but they saw the prohibition that Zhu Yuanzhang asked Li Shanchang to write in advance: "Materials and women in the city must not be looted, and offenders will be punished with military law."The soldiers had no choice but to look at the loot at their fingertips. Zhu Yuanzhang also killed several soldiers who violated the order to show the public.

The city of Taiping quickly settled down. All the soldiers obeyed the military law, and the people and their supplies were not threatened. They were full of praise for Zhu Yuanzhang's army.And Zhu Yuanzhang was also worried that he had made a promise before, so he would go back on his word, fearing that the army's morale would be unstable, so he asked the local big landlords and big chaebols to donate some money and silk to reward the soldiers. As long as there is a reward, the whole army will be happy. But Li Guosheng actually had his own ambitions before crossing the river.He wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of crossing the river to assassinate Zhu Yuanzhang and take the opportunity to get Zhu Yuanzhang's army.As for this, Zhu Yuanzhang was prepared. When he returned to Hezhou from Chaohu, Feng Guoyong and Li Shanchang felt that the matter might not be that simple when Li Guosheng agreed, which made Zhu Yuanzhang think twice.Zhu Yuanzhang also knew that Li Guosheng was cunning, so he didn't want to associate with him before, but at this time, he had to use Li Guosheng's boat to cross the river, so he was more prepared in his heart.

Sure enough, when Li Guosheng traveled to the center of the river, he invited Zhu Yuanzhang to drink and discuss military affairs, and planned to kill Zhu Yuanzhang.When Zhu Yuanzhang arrived at Li Guosheng's place, he saw a man named Sang Shijie next to Li Guosheng with an unstable expression, and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang hesitantly many times before drinking.When Zhu Yuanzhang went to Chaohu Lake, he had a brief exchange with Sang Shijie, and he knew that this person was sincere and down-to-earth. Seeing his unusual expression, Zhu Yuanzhang gave him a wink and took the opportunity to go to the bathroom to leave the guest room.Sure enough, Zhu Yuanzhang met Sang Shijie at the door of the toilet. Sang Shijie told Zhu Yuanzhang of Li Guosheng's conspiracy and advised him not to drink. Back in the guest room, Zhu Yuanzhang sat down for a while and was about to leave.Of course Li Guosheng didn't agree, and said: "Just now we were discussing military law and military affairs, and I haven't had enough free wine yet. This is the first time you and I have cooperated, so we should drink to celebrate." Zhu Yuanzhang pretended to be intimate and said: "Brother Li doesn't know, Yuanzhang is not used to water, and he is having a stomachache. If you don't leave, your elegance will be ruined." After that, he laughed humorously a few times. Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was not suspicious, Li Guosheng acted naturally and could not be retained, so he gave up. After Zhu Yuanzhang went back, he felt resentful and decided to get rid of Li Guosheng, otherwise he would be another obstacle on the other side of the river. Two days later, Zhu Yuanzhang sent word to Li Guosheng that he had recovered from his illness today, and he would invite Li Guosheng back with a banquet.Li Guosheng didn't take precautions, and didn't know that his subordinates had betrayed him, so he went to the banquet.At the wine table, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Tang He and Xu Da, who were able to drink, to come and accompany them, and Li Guosheng was drunk until Li Guosheng became unconscious.Zhu Yuanzhang winked at Tang He and said, "Help General Li go down to rest." Tang He asked a few younger brothers to tie up Li Guosheng and throw him into the Yangtze River. This strategic move is the key to Zhu Yuanzhang's great cause of attacking Jiqing.Zhu Yuanzhang not only successfully crossed the Yangtze River and took down Taiping, but also eliminated Li Guosheng on the way across the river and incorporated Li Guosheng's army.Since then, Zhu Yuanzhang has owned the first navy, and Taiping has become Zhu Yuanzhang's first step in seeking Jiangnan.