Chapter 23 Section 6 Real Power and False Name

After capturing Hezhou, the food problem was solved, and the Yuan army attacked several times, but they were all defeated by Zhu Yuanzhang's command.Guo Zixing's army went smoothly and the momentum of development was good.Unexpectedly, at this time, in March of the fifteenth year, Guo Zixing fell seriously ill and died. Once Guo Zixing died, the situation immediately became complicated.Chuzhou and Hezhou lost their coaches, and this "Guo Jiajun" has become fat in the eyes of the surrounding forces, and everyone wants to swallow it quickly.And within Guo Jun, a secret struggle for power and power began, and Zhu Yuanzhang was caught in internal and external troubles for a while.

The most threatening force from outside is King Xiao Ming.Han Shantong, the leader of the White Lotus Sect, was captured and killed by the Yuan army shortly after the uprising began.Liu Futong found Han Shantong's son, Han Lin'er, and offered him the position of leader.In February of the fifteenth year of Zhengzheng, that is, one month before Guo Zixing's death, Liu Futong supported Han Lin'er as emperor, named King Xiaoming, and established a political power.After learning of Guo Zixing's death, the Great Song Peasant Army of course also wanted to incorporate this army to strengthen its own strength.

At the same time, the situation within Guo Jun is also a bit complicated.After Guo Zixing passed away, he left behind two sons, Guo Tianxu and Guo Tianjue, two wives, one older and one younger, and a brother-in-law, Zhang Tianyou.Guo Tianxu is the eldest son of Guo Zixing, and it is most suitable to take over his father's class because of the habit of father's death.Even Zhang Tianyou, in terms of blood, is closer than his son-in-law Zhu Yuanzhang.As soon as Guo Zixing died, both of them were eager to try. At this time, in April of the fifteenth year of Zhengzheng, that is, one month after Guo Zixing's death, the regime of King Xiaoming of Song Dynasty sent envoys to Hezhou to contact Guo's army.Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou knew that they were not Zhu Yuanzhang's opponents, so they were very willing to rely on King Xiaoming as their backer.So Zhang Tianyou followed the envoy to Bozhou to pay homage to King Xiao Ming.When he arrived in Bozhou, Zhang Tianyou talked about how the army supported the old lord and how he was willing for the old lord's son to succeed him.As a result, he got his wish and brought back from Bozhou the appointment certificate of King Xiaoming's regime; Guo Tianxu was the capital marshal, Zhang Tianyou was the right deputy marshal, and Zhu Yuanzhang was the left deputy marshal.In other words, Zhu Yuanzhang became the third in command.

Zhu Yuanzhang's first reaction was of course very annoyed.Who doesn't know that this army is mainly under his command now?You, Guo and Zhang, are too overwhelmed to engage in this little trick.Several cronies also urged him to decline the appointment.But Zhu Yuanzhang is an extraordinary person after all.He changed his mind, accepting this appointment would also be beneficial.King Xiao Ming's regime is far away from him, beyond his reach, and accepting the title does not mean that he is under their actual control.At the same time, accepting this appointment will, after all, save the Guo family from internal divisions.He knew that Guo Tianxu was young and inexperienced, and Zhang Tianyou was indecisive and lacked resourcefulness even though he was old.When encountering complicated situations, you still need to come out and make decisions yourself.Giving Guo and Zhang a false name will not affect their actual control over this army.At this critical moment, he can only retreat for the time being.

Therefore, in April of the first year of Longfeng (AD 1355), Zhu Yuanzhang, Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou accepted the title of King Xiaoming together, established the Marshal's Mansion in Hezhou, and enshrined Longfeng as Zhengshuo.Sure enough, as Zhu Yuanzhang expected, the commander-in-chief died and it was difficult to stand alone. The external situation was so tense that Guo and Zhang had no idea and didn't know how to deal with it, so they listened to Zhu Yuanzhang in everything.Although Zhu Yuanzhang ranked third, he actually became the head coach of the Marshal's Mansion.

Staying in Hezhou for a long time is not a long-term solution.Zhu Yuanzhang decided to cross the Yangtze River, capture Taiping (now Dangtu, Anhui), and develop towards the south of the Yangtze River.Jiangnan is a well-known and prosperous area, not to mention the temptation of Jiqing (Nanjing) where dragons and tigers dominate. On the second day of June, Zhu Yuanzhang personally led a land and water army of more than 10,000 people, took Fengdou clippers and rafts, and started the battle of crossing the river with Chang Yuchun as the vanguard, with the goal of quarrying on the opposite bank.More than a thousand ships, large and small, lined up in two teams and set sail to compete.Chang Yuchun had extraordinary physical strength, was good at shooting arrows, and was known for his bravery. He lived up to his mission, led a few small boats, took the lead, forcibly docked, and swung their spears at the Yuan soldiers.Yuan Bing stretched out his hand to grab the dagger, he jumped up the river bank, rushed left and right, Yuan Bing scattered and fled.

Then, Zhu Yuanzhang commanded the army, took advantage of the victory and captured Taiping, and established a foothold in the south of the Yangtze River.