Chapter 37 9. Grab the opportunity to expand the power of the Eastern Expedition and the Southern Expedition

After getting rid of King Xiaoming, Zhu Yuanzhang no longer had any worries, so he no longer used King Xiaoming's Dragon and Phoenix year name, and took "Wu Yuannian" as his new year name, which actually marked that Zhu Yuanzhang would become the new emperor. Standing in front of the map, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the situation in the north and the south. Should he go north to attack Yuan soldiers, or continue to conquer the weak rebel forces in the south? Liu Bowen said: "On the surface, the north is still ruled by the Yuan Dynasty, but the internal situation is very complicated. The landlord army Wang Xuan is defending Shandong, Henan is garrisoned by Kuo Kuo Timur, and Longyou in the Guan is Li Siqi, Zhang Liangbi and others. Guard, Datong is guarded by Polo Timur. However, Koko Timur is at odds with the two generals Li and Zhang. Polo Timur and Koko Timur have always been in opposition, and there have been constant disputes between them , fighting a civil war. And at this time, the rulers of the Yuan court are also fighting for power and killing each other."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the situation in the south and said: "The south is a little quieter than the north. Sichuan is the territory of Xia Guomingsheng, Yunnan is guarded by the clan of the Yuan Dynasty, King Liang, and Fujian is the sphere of influence of Chen Youding, but he is still loyal to the Yuan Dynasty. It is the sphere of influence of the Yuan Dynasty." The two compared the situation in the north and the south, and felt that the Yuan generals in the north were not fighting with each other, and the rulers of the Yuan court were fighting for power, which actually provided a good opportunity for development to the south.At this time, the generals of the Yuan Dynasty were too busy to take care of themselves, so of course they were unwilling to send troops to the south, and for Zhu Yuanzhang, the south had more geographical advantages than attacking to the north.

After setting his sights on the south, Zhu Yuanzhang feels that the current strategy is to attack which military separatist forces in the south first. After some analysis, Zhu Yuanzhang believed that the ruler of the Xia Kingdom in Sichuan was actually very young, and the military strength was not strong. There had been conflicts among the heroes all along, and the Xia Kingdom was silent. At this time, there must be no ambitions. For a while, there is no threat to the central part, and there is no military value, so it can be ignored, so the goal of the southward march is set in Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi.

After deciding on the marching strategy, Zhu Yuanzhang began to plan the deployment. Zhu Yuanzhang, who grew up in many years of battle, used 100% effort and rigor for any offense and defense. Though determined to attack south, he followed closely the actions of the north, and sent several military spies to scout out the situation. Li Shanchang said: "To attack Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi at this time, we should attack with heavy troops. Shanchang thought it would be best to send Xu Da and those veterans. Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi are far away from Yingtian. The veterans have experienced many battles and can randomly respond to sudden changes that occur just before the battle. "

Since Liu Bowen arrived in Yingtian, Li Shanchang has always been at a disadvantage. After all, he is not as smart as Liu Bowen, and he is not as familiar with the military situation in the south of the Yangtze River. Liu Bowen is also slightly better at military planning.Of course, it's not that Li Shanchang doesn't understand that he is inferior to Liu Bowen, but what he can't get angry about is that Liu Bowen likes to show off his intelligence, and sometimes he bullies others with his talent, and doesn't save face for himself.So this time, seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang is about to become an emperor, Li Shanchang, as a hero in Huaixi, must of course perform again at the critical moment.

However, Li Shanchang's painstaking efforts did not win Zhu Yuanzhang's favor, and Zhu Yuanzhang did not adopt Li Shanchang's suggestion to try his best to capture the south.He combined the analysis of Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen, and he saw it higher and farther: Of course the south wanted to attack, but the north would never give up, and the pressure to advance at the same time was too great. After thinking for a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Zhou Dexing: "Brother Zhou, you have been with us for many years and have experienced many battles. It stands to reason that we should also enjoy a few days of happiness in Yingtian. But right now, the situation in the world is still not optimistic."

Zhou Dexing knew that Zhu Yuanzhang must entrust himself with a heavy responsibility. He already knew that he was going to attack Fujian and Guangdong, but he didn't know the specific battle plan. The world will devote its whole life to it, please rest assured, my lord." Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said: "You are all our good brothers. You have been with us for many years and have never been at peace. The time to calm down the world is coming soon." Zhu Yuanzhang's words aroused Zhou Dexing's many memories. The memories included the sweetness of being with him as a child, and the sourness of fighting hard. What's more, he was more loyal and firm to Zhu Yuanzhang, because in his heart, although Zhu Yuanzhang was the king of Wu , but did not forget the friendship between brothers.

Zhu Yuanzhang decided to give the farthest Guangxi to Zhou Dexing to conquer, because Guangxi is relatively remote, Zhu Yuanzhang worried that if young soldiers sent troops, they would inevitably have the ambition to stay behind, because in the past battles, the enemy did not surrender. Or a general who has the heart to stand on his own, so he sent his trusted veteran Zhou Dexing to lead the army. This time, Zhu Yuanzhang dispatched multiple fronts at the same time. At the same time that Zhou Dexing went to Guangxi, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to go directly to Fujian from Jiangxi. Compared with Guangxi, Fujian made Zhu Yuanzhang feel at ease, because Zhou Dexing led troops to attack Guangxi's Yuan soldiers, and it should be said that he was sure to win.But Chen Youding from Fujian is not so easy to deal with.Chen Youding was originally a poor man. When the Red Turban Army attacked Fujian in the twelfth year of Yuan Zhizheng (1352), he joined the Yuan Dynasty as a "militiaman" and made a lot of military exploits. Although Fujian has no ambitions and is domineering, it is loyal and responsible to the Yuan Dynasty, and its base in Fujian is relatively strong.

Zhu Yuanzhang's strategy in Fujian was to divide his troops into three groups. The cavalry led by Hu Tingrui attacked from Jiangxi as the main force and attacked from the front. , sent Tang He and Liao Yongzhong from Mingzhou to attack Fuzhou with a boat division. Disperse Chen Youliang's forces. The armies were properly deployed. Zhu Yuanzhang knew that although Hu Tingrui's cavalry was the main force for this attack, he did not place all his trust on Hu Tingrui. Hu Tingrui was just a cover to seduce Chen Youding. The real main force was actually Tang He and Li Wenzhong, this arrangement is to make Chen Youding careless and unable to deal with it.

After Tang He and Liao Yongzhong arrived in Fuzhou by sea, they did not attack. They first sent envoys to Yanping to deliver the letter of surrender to Chen Youding, and inquired about Chen Youding's situation by the way. The letter of surrender was nothing more than a declaration of war. But Chen Youding beheaded the envoy sent by Tang He in public, which made Tang He very angry, and immediately notified the two generals. It seemed that Chen Youding was ready for battle.And the soldiers came back and reported that Chen Youding was in Fuzhou City, built many forts around the city wall, and sent warriors to guard them. Fuzhou and Yanping formed a corner in the military to guard and assist.

After learning the information, Tang He and Liao Yongzhong stormed Fuzhou, while Li Wenzhong attacked Jianning and Hu Tingrui attacked Yanping.Fuzhou was the first to be captured. Chen Youding's main force was in Yanping, while Hu Tingrui deliberately went around and did not concentrate his attacks.After capturing Fuzhou, Tang He and Liao Yongzhong went straight to Yanping to assist Hu Tingruiqi in attacking Chen Youding's main force. Chen Youding and his soldiers swore to defend the city. The protection is very strict, the city gate cannot be attacked for a long time, and the city wall is difficult to cross.Tang He and the others continued to besiege for ten days. In the end, Chen Youding in the city was too weak to resist, and the city was broken. Chen Youding knew that there would be no good results even if he surrendered, so he forced his son to commit suicide together with him.It took only half a month for Tang He and the others to capture Chen Youding's hometown Yanping, and it took another few months to rectify and take over the cities and people in Fujian. As for the military strategy of conquering Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhu Yuanzhang also divided his troops into three routes.Zhou Dexing and Yang Jing attacked Guangxi from the south of Huguang, Lu Zhongheng went directly to Deqing from Shaozhou, and the other route was to pacify the navy of Fujian, led by Tang He and Liao Yongzhong, and directly attacked Guangzhou from Haidao. This time, Zhu Yuanzhang did not let the soldiers of the three routes set off at the same time, but divided them into periods of time to reduce losses, and at the same time avoid the chaotic state of soldiers fighting in the distance. The soldiers do not attack at the same time, so it is easy to dispatch and coordinate, and it is easy to command reinforcements to advance and retreat. The soldiers led by Zhou Dexing set out first and advanced from Hengzhou to Guangxi. They first occupied Yongzhou through a bloody battle, then captured Quanzhou, and finally invaded the Guilin area.This route encountered the greatest resistance and the most obstacles, but Zhou Dexing had excellent commanding skills and strong adaptability, and finally achieved his goal successfully.When the First Route Army initially succeeded, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately asked Lu Zhongheng to send troops to the Beijiang and Xijiang areas (now Guilin area) to cut off the traffic arteries between Guangzhou and Jingjiang, and prevent the aid and retreat routes between Guangdong and Guangxi.Then let Liao Yongzhong send someone to persuade the Yuan generals to surrender, and exaggerate the attacking military power several times to intimidate him. Finally, He Zhen, Zuo Cheng, Fujian Xingzhong Secretary, Jiangxi Province, surrendered.When He Zhenyi surrendered, Guangzhou and nearby prefectures and counties surrendered without a fight, and they all returned smoothly. At this time, under the excellent situation in Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Liao Yongzhong to send troops along the Xijiang River into Guangxi, rendezvous with Zhou Dexing, and besieged Jingjiang at the same time. Jingjiang was soon breached and Guangxi was pacified. Zhu Yuanzhang seized the best opportunity and took the lead in the Eastern Expedition to the Southern Expedition. With his excellent military deployment ability, he quickly pacified Fujian, took over Guangdong and Guangxi, expanded his territory, and enriched his army, laying the foundation for the Northern Expedition and the Yuan Army. The formation of his own hegemony has made a beautiful annotation.