Chapter 21 2. Encounter by chance on the mountain road, sincerely pay homage to Feng Guoyong, the military adviser

After Zhu Yuanzhang captured Dingyuan, the most urgent task was to recruit troops and expand military power.After planning to surrender Lvpaizhai, Zhu Yuanzhang won 20,000 militiamen from Hengjian Mountain in one fell swoop.On the way back from Hengjian Mountain, because he chose to take the mountain road, Zhu Yuanzhang sent someone to lead the returned militiamen first, and he and several guards came back. After running around all night, in the early morning, Zhu Yuanzhang and his rear team arrived at a mountain with a sign called "Miaoshan".At a glance, the mountain is flat, the trees are beautiful, there are birds singing from time to time, and the morning sun is mottled and shadowy.Zhu Yuanzhang was about to ask, but when he heard the sound of reading in the mountains, Zhu Yuanzhang was even more curious.Leading people along the mountain, as they gradually approached, the sound of Lang Lang's book was clearly discernible. It turned out that the person was reading "The Art of War by Sun Tzu".Zhu Yuanzhang thought that this person must be an extraordinary person, and his desire to meet him became stronger.

Walking to the middle of the mountain, I saw a person. Zhu Yuanzhang got off his horse and saluted: "I don't know if the person who studied just now is a gentleman?" The scholar was dressed in Tsing Yi, with a wise and clear appearance, and laughed loudly: "May I ask who this general is...?" Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his military uniform and horse, and said with an apologetic smile, "Mr. Excuse me, Mr. Yazhi, next time Zhu Yuanzhang passed by here, I heard..." "It turned out to be Mr. Zhu, who has heard of his name for a long time and is employed by Feng Guoyong." The man respected each other with courtesy.

Zhu Yuanzhang had heard of Feng Guoyong and his brother Feng Guosheng as early as when he first took Dingyuan.Feng Guoyong was deep and cunning, while Feng Guosheng was brave and resourceful, and I heard that when Feng Guosheng was born, the room was full of black air, and people said that he would surely accomplish great things, which was quite legendary.I have never had a chance to meet, but today I met by chance, and I am so happy that I think about trying to win them over no matter what. Zhu Yuanzhang said humbly: "Sir, I have admired Mr. Feng's name for a long time. I heard that Mr. Feng and his brothers built a stronghold in the mountains to protect themselves. I think this wonderful mountain is Mr.'s stronghold?"

Feng Guoyong said: "The young master knows the situation of Miaoshan. It seems that he is not passing by. Is there something wrong?" Feng Guoyong showed vigilance while talking. He knew that after Zhu Yuanzhang captured Dingyuan recently, he was accumulating strength and had already surrendered the militia in Lvpaizhai. Zhu Yuanzhang said earnestly: "I am indeed passing by. I heard the sound of Mr. reading, and I am curious. I just disturbed you here. I hope you will forgive me." Feng Guoyong was relieved to see that Zhu Yuanzhang was only bringing two entourages with him, and he didn't see any soldiers at the foot of the mountain.

What Zhu Yuanzhang is best at is observing people's hearts and prying people's emotions. Seeing that Feng Guoyong is not hostile or disgusted with himself, he said: "Can I have a casual chat with Mr. Feng in this place with green mountains and clear waters? Fate to meet Mr. Feng's younger brother." Feng Guoyong saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was speaking sincerely and had no intention of disturbing him for a long time, so he asked Zhu Yuanzhang to go into the village to talk. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Can I invite a brother to go with me?" Feng Guoyong asked cautiously: "Who is it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled casually: "It's an old friend of Mr. You can tell it at the first sight." It turned out to be the leader of Qin. Although Feng Guoyong and him were old acquaintances, they also heard that he had defected to Zhu Yuanzhang, but I don't know why the two visited Miaoshan together at this time. Qin turned his head to see Feng Guoyong's question, smiled knowingly and said: "Mr. Feng, I haven't seen you for a long time. I surrendered to Mr. Zhu Hengjian Mountain yesterday. I was passing by here, so I'm bothering you. Why don't you invite Mr. Zhu into the house for a cup of tea?"

Feng Guoyong understood the whole story, and smiled a little embarrassedly: "Of course, of course, this way please!" Several people exchanged greetings all the way to the village.This is not a big village, but the houses and paths are in order, and everything in the village is safe and content, just like a paradise. Seeing Feng Guosheng, Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked again. Compared with his elder brother, this man was less refined and more heroic, and he was overjoyed. Knowing that the 20,000 militiamen in Hengjian Mountain had been taken back by Zhu Yuanzhang, the two brothers Feng Guoyong looked at each other, and it seemed difficult to say.I saw Feng Guoyong sighed and said: "There are only a few hundred people in the village. In this troubled world, my two brothers just wanted to let the people around them live a stable life, so they fled here. A place of peace."

Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Feng Guoyong was worried that he had plots against the stockade, so he immediately said: "Yuanzhang respects Mr. Feng's talent and character, and I am very happy to meet you today. To be honest, I also think in my heart, if there are two Mr. Feng Helping each other will definitely accomplish great things, and I also have the mood of seeking talents, but if the husband refuses, Yuanzhang will definitely not offend." Feng Guoyong and Feng Guosheng looked at each other again and nodded. Seeing that they still didn't trust him very much, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "How about this, as long as the two gentlemen are willing, Yuanzhang will be there for you at any time. You also know that in troubled times, it is difficult for individuals to display their abilities It is difficult for a weak force to develop. What Yuanzhang said today is true, even if the husband refuses to go down the mountain, Yuanzhang will not offend him."

In fact, Feng Guoyong had been on the sidelines for a long time, and wanted to rely on a powerful army.He has always been dissatisfied with the situation in Haozhou. He heard that although Zhu Yuanzhang's army is small, it has strict discipline and Zhu Yuanzhang is loyal. He and his brothers have long been paying attention to Zhu Yuanzhang's actions. Seeing that Feng Guoyong was speechless, Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Well, Yuanzhang visited by chance today and was disturbed, so he left first. Yuanzhang asked Mr. Feng to think twice. If Mr. Feng doesn't mind, Yuanzhang wants to talk to Mr. Feng. A friend, let’s invite Mr. Feng to have tea and chat some other day.”

Mr. Feng saw the sincerity and sincerity on Zhu Yuanzhang's face, and Qin turned his head and said some good things beside him. In fact, he already had the idea of ​​defecting, but it was inconvenient to make a decision at this time. He thanked Zhu Yuanzhang and promised to visit Zhu Yuanzhang himself after thinking about it. After Zhu Yuanzhang left, the two brothers Feng Guoyong and Feng Guosheng weighed in for a long time. They felt that Zhu Yuanzhang had the most potential in the Red Turban Army here. Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang made such an earnest request, so he decided to arrange the belongings of the people and horses in a few days and go to defect.

A few days later, Feng Guoyong sent someone to send a letter to Zhu Yuanzhang, saying that he was valued by the young master, and he would like to lead the strong men in the village to serve with his younger brother Guosheng.Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy to see the letter. This was the first literary talent he accepted, to be precise, a useful talent with both civil and military skills.He now needs not only soldiers, but also staff and generals. In the evening, Feng Guoyong really brought people to join him, and Zhu Yuanzhang personally greeted them out of Dingyuan City for a mile.Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's sincerity, Feng Guoyong and Feng Guosheng felt more at ease, believing that their judgments were not wrong, and that this was a man who planned big things. After the people were settled, Zhu Yuanzhang went to visit the Feng brothers' residence in the early morning of the next day, and the Feng brothers were very grateful.Zhu Yuanzhang invited them to climb the tower together. Standing on the tower of Dingyuan City, looking at the rising sun in the east, overlooking the small city below, and looking in the direction of Haozhou, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed extremely worried.The Feng brothers didn't know how to speak for a while, so they had to wait for Zhu Yuanzhang to speak. Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Haozhou and said: "Not far away is our hometown Haozhou. We have been trapped in Haozhou for several months. Now we have finally got rid of the right and wrong struggles in Haozhou and won the first city. Looking at the four fields, looking at the feet, I don’t know where the road is? I also ask Mr. Feng to point out the maze, so as to plan for future development.” Feng Guoyong saw that Zhu Yuanzhang had no intention of probing, but asked sincerely, that is, "the other side of the river is Jiqing, and it is not very far from here." Feng Guoyong pointed in the direction of the Yangtze River as he spoke.After a little thought, Feng Guoyong went on to say: "Jiqing is a place where tigers occupy dragons and dragons. Since ancient times, emperors have built their capitals here. Moreover, Jiqing is located in the central part, with the Yangtze River as a natural danger, and it controls the entire Jiangnan area. Military and political affairs. You can first set your goal on Jiqing, take Jiqing as a base, and the entire Jiangnan area is in front of you. If you plan to conquer Jiangnan, and then conquer from all directions, you will surely achieve great things." Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang felt as if Jiqing It’s really so desirable. Looking in the direction of the Yangtze River, he was radiant, full of pride and anticipation, and said excitedly: “Thank you, Mr. Feng, Yuanzhang suddenly felt that the world is so big, we have a direction and a goal to move forward. .” Feng Guoyong saw that Zhu Yuanzhang trusted his words so much, and went on to say: "My lord thinks that the son should also teach soldiers not to covet women's sex and property, do more good deeds, advocate benevolence and righteousness, win people's hearts, not covet the profit of a city and a pond, and recruit talents widely. Military general, such achievements are just around the corner.” Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said yes, he was born as a farmer and knew how to love the people better than Feng Guoyong.But Feng Guoyong's words made him walk out of the fog.Previously, although he knew that Haozhou could not be returned, and Dingyuan was not a long-term place, but there were many heroes everywhere, and he really didn't know how to set his own route and plan his goals since he was just starting out.Now it is suddenly enlightened, with lofty ambitions in my heart. Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Thank you, Mr. Yuanzhang is very lucky to have Mr. to assist us in the great cause. Please bow down to be our shogunate and advise us." Zhu Yuanzhang respected each other with courtesy. In this way, the Feng brothers became Zhu Yuanzhang's earliest staff officers, and also guided Zhu Yuanzhang's more ambitious political ideals.Because when he went to Haozhou, Zhu Yuanzhang thought more about how to change his destiny and how to fill his stomach.But at this time, he had a certain status and some strength. When he was at a loss, he met a scholar with a strategy, and his mind and vision changed. Soon after, the Feng brothers recommended to Zhu Yuanzhang Li Shanchang, a local celebrity, and explained in detail how Li Shanchang was able to predict things and how talented he was. Zhu Yuanzhang had his next goal in mind.In the days when they got along slowly, they admired Zhu Yuanzhang from admiration to admiration. The two brothers deeply admired Zhu Yuanzhang's words and deeds, his conduct, and his strict leadership and training.They also believed even more that with such a wise and courageous general, they would be able to achieve great things.With the trust and reuse of Zhu Yuanzhang, the talents of the Feng brothers were also brought into play. Only those who love talents can make talents do their best, and talents can achieve success only when they work hard.The Feng brothers not only made great contributions to Zhu Yuanzhang's initial career development, such as conquering Chuzhou, Hezhou, Sanchahe, Banmenzhai, and Jilong Mountain, they also made great contributions in crossing the river, attacking Jiqing and other battles. Extraordinary wisdom and great energy.