Chapter 30 2. To build a hegemony, to set up a government office for Jiqing

Originally, King Xiao Ming appointed Guo Tianxu as the Marshal of the capital, Zhang Tianyou as the deputy marshal of the right capital, and Zhu Yuanzhang was only a marshal of the left capital.After Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou died in battle, Zhu Yuanzhang became the Marshal of the capital. Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care about the position of the Marshal of the capital. His goal had not yet been achieved - capturing Jiqing. The time soon came to the spring of the sixteenth year of Yuan Zhizheng (1356), and Zhu Yuanzhang had been planning to capture Jiqing.For Zhu Yuanzhang, this was an unbeatable move for him to develop his foundation in the south of the Yangtze River, so Zhu Yuanzhang was cautious and cautious, planning and planning.

As early as when Taiping was captured, Li Shanchang suggested that attacking Jiqing must not be fought hard.Guo Tianxu's disastrous defeat shows that Jiqing's guards are very strong. After all, it is an important place in the south of the Yangtze River, with a strong city and many elite soldiers stationed there. It is a place that many people have long coveted.If you can't attack for a long time, you will be defeated. Feng Guoyong suggested that first develop forces in Taiping, let the soldiers get familiar with the environment in this area, slowly capture the towns around Jiqing, isolate Jiqing, and then attack heavily.

Zhu Yuanzhang also developed in Taiping unhurriedly. Although in the past few months, he successively occupied Lishui, Liyang, Wuhu and other cities near Jiqing, and Jiqing was gradually isolated, Zhu Yuanzhang still did not dare to act rashly.Because the communication between Hezhou and Taiping is only feasible by waterway, but most of the waterways are cut off by the Yuan army, the news is difficult to communicate, and the information from the rear is not connected, and the army's morale is uncertain. So Feng Guosheng suggested: "The top priority is to stabilize the morale of the army, and the second is to drive away the Yuanshui army to open the way for the attack on Jiqing. And driving away the Yuanshui army is the prerequisite for stabilizing the army's morale. Now we have to deal with the Yuanshui army first to stabilize the people's hearts. , the waterway is unimpeded, and there will be a foundation for attacking Jiqing."

This is February, and the air of the Lunar New Year is not far away.Zhu Yuanzhang realized that the army was stationed in Taiping, and it was difficult to communicate with the rear. The soldiers were homesick and depressed, and the waterway was blocked, so there was one less way to attack Jiqing.So Chang Yuchun, Deng Yu and several young generals were sent to lead thousands of elite soldiers to the decisive battle against the Yuanshui Division. At the same time, they told the soldiers that they were not going to fight this time, but to clear the information road to China Unicom's hometown.The soldiers were very excited when they heard that the obstacle in communication was removed.The reason why these young people were sent was because Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to mislead the opponent, making the opponent think that these young people had no combat experience and had a mentality of underestimating the enemy, and then let them show their skills and attack fiercely.

General Yuanshui laughed when he saw a few young men, but he didn't take it seriously.Unexpectedly, these few people were all brave and good at fighting. Chang Yuchun's long-shot spears, Deng Yu's accurate arrows, and high morale made the Yuanshui army quickly defeated.Chang Yuchun and the others drove away the sailors and captured all the ships and boats. The communication between the two sides of the strait was completely smooth, and they could receive letters from the rear, and the morale of the army was also stable.At the same time, this water battle allowed Zhu Yuanzhang to acquire many military ships, and his water army was strengthened.This can be regarded as the prelude to attack Jiqing.

Zhu Yuanzhang discussed with civil and military officers and soldiers for several days and nights, and decided to use the strongest army lineup to personally lead the land and water troops to attack Jiqing with all their strength.Zhu Yuanzhang thought that all the small towns near Jiqing had been captured, and soldiers could besiege from all sides, and reinforcements could be continuously sent from all directions.Zhu Yuanzhang had arranged the affairs of all parties, and worried that if the news leaked out, it would be bad for him, so he decided to postpone the original plan for two days before taking action.

It was originally scheduled to send troops on the last day of February, but now it has become the second day of March. But during the two days in between, Zhu Yuanzhang was not idle. He set his goal on Fangshan near Jiqing.Chen Zhaoxian, the nephew of Chen Ye, was stationed in Fangshan, and Chen Ye was a man who did not keep his promises and followed the wind.His nephew Chen Zhaoxian took back his old department, which was used by the Yuan army to defend Jiqing.Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know what kind of person Chen Zhaoxian was. He decided to attack Fangshan before attacking Jiqing, breaking the defense and opening the way for the army.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked Hu Dahai to take the initiative to attack Fangshan this time. Chen Zhaoxian was also a brave man, unlike his uncle who was cowardly and snobbish, and faced Hu Dahai himself without fear.Chen Zhaoxian came to the foot of the mountain, while Hu Dahai retreated while fighting, deliberately luring Chen Zhaoxian out of Fangshan. The two were fighting, and the fight was very exciting and fierce. Unexpectedly, Hu Dahai used a side attack and suddenly turned his horse. Chen Zhaoxian was unprepared , fell off the horse, and before Chen Zhaoxian could react, Hu Dahai and two soldiers had already caught him.At this time, Feng Guosheng shouted to the mountain that Chen Zhaoxian had been captured, and asked the soldiers on the mountain to come down and surrender.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang persuaded from left to right, and finally made Chen Zhaoxian surrender.This time, not only did they attack Xiashan, but also 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers. On the second day of March, taking advantage of the victorious momentum of the first attack, Zhu Yuanzhang launched a general attack on Jiqing.This time Zhu Yuanzhang took it too seriously, and used all the soldiers, all the elite soldiers, with high morale, and the soldiers went forward bravely, fighting all the way, reaching the city of Jiqing from all sides. The guarding general of the Yuan Dynasty was Fushou, the doctor of imperial history. He vowed to defend the city to the death and fought back many times, but was repelled by Zhu Yuanzhang's forwards Chang Yuchun, Hu Dahai and Hua Yun.As for the Yuan soldiers guarding the city, seeing that the attacking generals were so fierce and brave, especially Chang Yuchun's standard, killing people without blinking an eye, the Yuan soldiers were too frightened to fight back and rushed to flee.Seeing that he was powerless to resist and was seriously injured, Fushou stabbed himself with a sword.In less than a few hours, Zhu Yuanzhang's people from all walks of life rushed to Jiqing City, and Jiqing was breached.

As soon as Jiqing was captured, Marshal Kang Maocai of the nearby Shuizhai came to surrender. Kang Maocai's surrender brought 500,000 soldiers and civilians to Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Yuanzhang's power suddenly doubled. After entering the city, Zhu Yuanzhang remembered the admonition of "build high walls, accumulate food widely, and slowly become king". He followed the example of Han Gaozu Liu Bang. , political corruption, people living in dire straits, and now the world is in chaos, and troops are rebelling against the Yuan Dynasty everywhere, all because of the corruption of the Yuan Dynasty government itself. After many years of war, the common people have suffered greatly. You are trapped in a dangerous city, and you cannot live and work in peace. I led the troops to come This is to get rid of chaos and harm for you. Please don’t have doubts and fears, and keep your duties. Wise men and gentlemen should be appointed with courtesy. Officers, soldiers and officials should not be violent and harm the people. If the old system harms the people, it should be abolished and changed immediately. In order for the people to live and work in peace and contentment, the city will prosper." These heartfelt words made the people in the city feel at ease, and the order in the city was no longer chaotic, and soon returned to normal.Zhu Yuanzhang also asked Li Shanchang to write a notice to Anmin and recruit talented people, and posted it around the city.

How excited and excited Zhu Yuanzhang was this night.He thought of his wife, Ma Xiuying, who was still staying in Hezhou, and his military career, wandering on the journey all year round, with little stability, and a little sad. How much he longed to see his long-lost wife and son whom he had not met yet.He turned towards Hezhou and murmured: "Jiqing, this is a treasure land, and it is also where Zhu Yuanzhang lives." Early the next morning, Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da rushed to patrol the city and went to Jiqing Mansion first, but unexpectedly saw Li Shanchang who was busy conducting.Seeing that Li Shanchang was very busy, Zhu Yuanzhang was a little puzzled, and asked him what he was commanding the soldiers to transport. Li Shanchang smiled and said, "They are all treasures, priceless treasures." Zhu Yuanzhang was even more puzzled. When he got closer, he found that they were account books, tax records, household registration and other official books.Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang hadn't understood yet, Li Shanchang said, "These records are all information from various places in the south of the Yangtze River." Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly realized, laughed loudly and said, "Sir, you are right. These are treasures. They are priceless treasures for us to deal with the southeast region, and they are also priceless treasures for us to manage the festival." After patrolling the city for a week, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that Jiqing was really grand and majestic, and the supplies in the city were sufficient, so he was overjoyed. In the evening, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to hold a general meeting of the whole army. At the meeting, Chang Yuchun, Hu Dahai and other meritorious people were first praised, and then Chang Yuchun was punished for killing soldiers and civilians indiscriminately after entering the city.This Chang Yuchun is a brave general, but one thing is not good, that is, he likes to kill without scruples in wars. Zhu Yuanzhang has repeatedly strictly controlled him. Although he restrained himself, he could not show mercy.When punishing Chang Yuchun, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to give the soldiers and generals a warning, warning them that merit is merit and demerit is demerit, meritorious deeds will be rewarded, and those who have done so will be severely punished to uphold the military spirit. At this rally, Zhu Yuanzhang also announced something that made the soldiers rejoice, that is, they would not return to Hezhou after they occupied the Jiqing.Zhu Yuanzhang counted the prosperity and development prospects of Jiangnan, and finally said that he would pick up the women, children and family members who stayed in Hezhou as soon as possible, and the mood of the soldiers boiled for a while. Zhu Yuanzhang changed Jiqing Road to Yingtian Mansion, set up the Grand Marshal's Mansion, and appointed himself Grand Marshal.The reason why it was set up as Yingtian Mansion is that in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, he was able to achieve today's glory from a poor man with nothing, all in compliance with God's will and God's protection, so it was named Yingtian. This is the beginning of Zhu Yuanzhang's hegemony. He readjusted the army and civil and military generals he had collected in the Jiangnan area, rewarded them for their merits, and redistributed their positions.King Xiaoming received the news that Zhu Yuanzhang captured Jiqing, and promoted Zhu Yuanzhang to the rank of Grand Marshal, Xing Zhongshu Sheng Pingzhang, and other major generals were promoted to Marshal.Although Zhu Yuanzhang didn't take Xiaoming King seriously at this time, he kept those nine characters in mind, thinking that the time for him to become king had not yet come, and the world was not peaceful. For Zhu Yuanzhang, getting Jiqing, the place where tigers occupy the dragon's pan, was the beginning of his hegemony, but he had to keep Jiqing after he got Jiqing, because he was surrounded by powerful enemies.To the southeast is Zhang Shicheng, the richest power, to the east is the Yuan general Ding Ding guarding Zhenjiang, to the southwest is Xu Shouhui with a strong army, and to the south and scattered places are guarded by Yuan soldiers... Zhu Yuanzhang is a new force here, and he must receive attention and attention. Squeezed out and surrounded in the middle, the military situation is not favorable. Zhu Yuanzhang, who was only 28 years old, won Jiqing, but he did not sleep well. To defend Jiqing, keep his foothold in the south of the Yangtze River, and be caught among the heroes, he must make persistent efforts to break out a world.For this reason, Zhu Yuanzhang started a new campaign. His goal was to stabilize his foothold in Jiangnan first, and then attack from all sides to plot Jiangnan.