First Minister of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 118 Who is the enemy and who is the friend

Those who were not good at escaping were also captured first Timur.

Frankly speaking, this is a bit beyond the expectations of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Ximeng.A first-rank member of the Yuan Dynasty, the younger brother of Prime Minister Tuotuo, who had escaped twice under Liu Futong, even if he couldn't beat him, he could always run away!

Even if you can't run away, you can always die!

But this one became a prisoner. His rank is much higher than Zhongshu Zuocheng and Ministry of Industry Shangshu Jialu, and his influence is much greater.

How should this person be dealt with?

Did you kill it?

Perhaps this is the simplest and easiest way. There is nothing better than beheading high-ranking officials of the Yuan court, boosting the morale of the army, and boosting morale.

It's just that Zhu Yuanzhang has not made up his mind for a long time, and he has some other ideas.

"My lord, if I'm not mistaken, my lord wants to tame this person?"

Zhu Yuanzhang heheed twice, and said with a smile: "We are also delusional. He is a high-ranking official in the Yuan Dynasty and a Mongolian nobleman. How could he reform himself? We are a little worried. If we kill him, will Tuotuo risk his life? If so, Can we hold it?"

But Zhang Ximeng encouraged: "My lord, Timur is reluctant to die first, which proves that he is not a stubborn person. My lord has the world in mind. Since the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, there have been more than hundreds of thousands of Mongols on the land of the Central Plains. Also Timur first. When I was an official in the court, I assisted Tuotuo, rectified the administration of officials, and supervised the officials. I also did some good things. If such a person can be won over, the impact on the hearts of the world will be self-evident. !"

"And the lord is worried that Tuotuo will try his best. I dare not say no, but in the position where Tuotuo is standing at this time, can he withstand failure?"

In a word, Lao Zhu sighed with emotion, yes, Liuhe suffered a disastrous defeat, lost [-] elites, the court officials were captured, and he was Tuotuo's younger brother.

If you can't even protect your siblings, why lead the three armies?

It can be foreseen that Tuotuo's next situation will be very difficult, and the enemies in the court will definitely attack in groups.

Even Tuotuo does anything, regardless of whether this younger brother, it will become an excuse for political enemies to attack, if he is protecting his brother, he has no court in his heart; no matter what, he will say that this man is ambitious, ruthless, and his virtue is not enough to lead the three armies... Anyway, he is I scold, therefore I am here, as long as you want to criticize, there is always something to say.

If at this time, Timur is the first to hack to death with a knife, maybe Tuotuo will really hit him directly.

But if Timur survives first, he will be a hostage in the hands of Zhu Jiajun, who can not only restrain Tuotuo, but also influence Yuan Ting, and can also inspire people's morale.

It is simply a wonderful use, with one mind!

"My lord, killing people with a knife, and taking pleasure in enmity and enmity are not superior after all. Killing the person who deserves to be killed is extremely vicious. A beast with no conscience must be killed. As for other people, please think twice, my lord, and allow me to say something that is too much." If you can capture Tuotuo, I hope the lord will be lenient, just let him reform himself!"

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help laughing, "Sir, you really dare to think! Well, let me promise you, let alone Tuotuo, even if the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty is captured, if he is willing to reform, we will not kill him!"

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't take this seriously, and he had to catch it before he said it.

As for Timur's survival, it all depends on his brother Tuotuo. After all, Tuotuo is the leader of the largest armed group with 40 troops. If he kills his younger brother casually, the consequences are really unpredictable .

"Since the lord agrees, why don't you imprison Yexian Timur and Lao Zhang together, so that Lao Zhang can teach Yexian?" Zhang Ximeng said with a smile.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this idea, he almost burst into laughter. He tried to stretch himself for a while, but he still couldn't stretch himself.

We are well-trained, but there are times when we can't help it!

Why is this idea so joyful? If we also Timur first, we will probably commit suicide directly, and we will definitely not be tortured by this.

First of all, Timur was a Mongolian nobleman, the royal doctor of the Yuan Dynasty, and was in charge of supervising all officials.

Zhiyuan Lao Zhang is a man of color, he was defeated and captured in Hengjian Mountain, and accepted reform.

Now let Lao Zhang teach and Timur first, the two of them stand together, just thinking about it makes them feel awkward.

Lao Zhu also figured it out, even if he just wanted to watch the fun, he couldn't kill him for the time being and Timur first!

"Succeed, do as you wish!"

What was unexpected was that Yexian Timur heard the news, his eyes widened in surprise, and he blurted out, "Old Zhang Zhiyuan, thanks to the emperor's grace, how dare he linger on, he should die for the country!"

After Timur yelled first, everyone looked at him with strange eyes.

This guy was stunned, his old face turned red, if he put the thermometer on his face at this moment, it would probably explode immediately.

Zhang Ximeng quickly said: "You don't have to think too much, we have rules in how we do things. If you are really guilty of serious crimes, you will be punished by yourself. If you don't have the crime of mortal death, follow the reform, repent and rehabilitate, and regain your life." A day of freedom... Remember, we are the real masters of the king, different from Yuan Ting!"

Zhang Ximeng explained a few words, and immediately someone took Yexian Timur down.

Moreover, there were people who were divided into two shifts, watching him all the time, for fear that this man would be overwhelmed with suicide.

Such an arrangement is also really interesting, the big guy even thought about how interesting it would be to capture Tuotuo and let him get together with his younger brother, crouching dragon and phoenix chick!

Taking advantage of Timur's efforts to deal with it first, the entire battlefield situation is almost clear.

The two thousand households of the Yuan army lost almost two thousand during the attack on Liuhe. Of the remaining 8000 people, more than 3000 died in the battle just now, and more than 7000 people were captured, but there are still several thousand People scattered, some ran towards the Yangtze River, trying to escape to Zhenzhou, and some ran towards Tianchang, intending to escape back to Gaoyou.

There are preparations in both directions, but Xu Da is also facing an army of [-] who knows about the affairs of the Privy Council, and the situation is critical.

Lao Zhu didn't dare to be negligent. Before the battle here was completely over, he gathered his troops, with Tang He and Hua Yun as the vanguard, a total of 5000 people, and immediately went to help Xu Da.

Zhu Yuanzhang personally led the army, which shows how much he attaches importance to it.

As for the rest of the mopping up work in Liuhe, Zhu Yuanzhang handed it over to Zhang Ximeng. As long as it wasn't about fighting, Zhang Ximeng was more skilled than Zhu Yuanzhang in handling it.

And Geng Junyong and Geng Bingwen and his son had done great service in defending the city, and they were in urgent need of repairs. After a few words of encouragement, Lao Zhu asked them to assist Zhang Ximeng in taking care of the aftermath.

After Lao Zhu made the arrangements, he immediately set off to the next battlefield to entertain the guests at the second table.

Zhang Ximeng has nothing to regret, this is what he does.

The strongest support is coming!

Zhang Ximeng arranged for Geng's father and son to lead the army, sweep the battlefield, mobilize the surrounding militias, arrest the prisoners, and try not to let any one go.

Then Zhang Ximeng launched an offensive against the captives. He gathered 40 troops, including soldiers and horses from the Western Regions, but more were drawn from various provinces, and many were even captured as strong men.

He was obviously working in the fields, but he was caught in a daze, tied up with a rope, and brought to Dadu, and then he followed the soldiers and horses to the south in a daze.

A man who had never been to other places except the county seat for decades, traveled thousands of miles in a daze, went to fight in unfamiliar areas, and was captured in a daze.

They are like poor weeds, flying with the wind, unable to make decisions at all.

Zhang Ximeng immediately ordered that the officers among the captives be found out, the Mongols and the Semu people be screened out, and all of them should be detained separately.

As for the remaining ordinary soldiers, Zhang Ximeng gathered them together.

"We are very clear that most of you were coerced, and you are also victims. The Yuan court has committed many evils, and there are countless books. They turned money into rivers, cruelly squeezed, and smashed the bones and sucked the marrow. They forced the red scarf rebels everywhere. Now they are trying to wipe out the red scarf army. Expropriation and extortion, lads everywhere, forcing kind people to kill each other, acting as their executioners."

"In a word, we fight to the death, and the killing of each other is the crime of the Yuan court. We must recognize this. We are not enemies with each other. On the contrary, we have a common enemy. After you are captured, you don't have to If you are worried, we will arrange food and clothing, and try not to let the big guys go hungry. Of course, we will also arrange labor, so that you can receive education and change your mind. If you are willing to join the Red Scarf Army, we welcome you, and you are willing to plow the fields , as ordinary people, we can also grant land, even if we want to go home, we will provide money. All in all, as long as the big guys don't serve Yuan Ting as lackeys, and don't kill each other, we are brothers!"

Zhang Ximeng talked a lot with the captives, which can be regarded as clarifying the policy for treating captives.

But no matter how nice it is, there are still many people who don't believe it.

But soon they felt the difference. After Zhang Ximeng finished speaking, they prepared dinner for them.

Many people have been hungry all day and night, and their stomachs are empty.

Zhang Ximeng had someone prepare brown rice porridge, steamed buns, and pickles for them.

Is it true that someone's hands trembled when each prisoner received his food?How can I eat so well?

Indeed, being able to eat white flour steamed buns was something that the Yuan army could not even imagine.

Not to mention whether the Yuan court has enough food, even if there is good food, those officials will have to deduct it in every possible way and use it to make a fortune. As for ordinary soldiers, it is already very good to be full. up.

Moldy and spoiled, even the bran eaten by livestock, can be used to satisfy hunger.

In terms of eating alone, Zhu Jiajun is much better than them.

Zhang Ximeng even had an idea, "Geng Qianhu, you said that if we surrounded the Yuan army, and then put white flour steamed buns, delicious pork stew, and beat gongs and drums, let them surrender, come and eat OK. What do you think will happen to them?"

Geng Jun smiled, "What else can I do? Surrender obediently! Sir, let's build an army and equalize the fields. This is a very good strategy. Only when you have food in your hands can you have confidence in your heart!"

Zhang Ximeng also nodded, at this time Geng Bingwen came, with something in his arms, he came to Zhang Ximeng mysteriously, "Sir, please take a look."

Zhang Ximeng frowned, took it over, and found that it was a book with tens of thousands of characters, and the pages were black. He should have read it often, but the book had no name.

Zhang Ximeng opened it up, and after only turning two pages, he frowned.

"Where did this come from?"

Geng Bingwen said: "It's also Timur's Chinese army account first. Hu Dahai's idiot was only interested in arresting people, but he didn't take away the official documents and letters. I snatched them all. When I checked, I found this." He lowered his voice, "Sir, this, does this mean that we are superior?"

Zhang Ximeng was stunned for a long time, looking at the writing above, he seemed to have guessed something, and his expression changed.A certain person did a really good job, but he deceived Yuan Ting miserably.

"Keep your mouth shut and don't leak any information. I'll discuss this matter with my lord." Zhang Ximeng said again: "Is there anything else going on now?"

"Yes!" Geng Bingwen said: "There are still two important things at the moment. One is that I have caught many gentry and celebrities from Chuzhou. They have joined the Yuan army. In the barracks, I will give advice first. What should these people do? ?”

"Find it out and punish them severely!" Zhang Ximeng said decisively: "You guys need to figure out that the ordinary soldiers in the Yuan army are our brothers and we can fight for them. Some generals of the Yuan army, they act according to orders, and we can reform them. But Those bastards who betrayed their ancestors and were willing to be lackeys are opposed to our equalization of land and do not want to see the poor gain power. They also dream of using the power of the Yuan court to continue to dominate the people and turn the big guys into cattle and horses again. Such people are even more hateful than Yexian Timur, so don't be polite to them!"

Zhang Ximeng clarified the key point in a few words, Geng Bingwen nodded again and again, sincerely convinced.He was very afraid that someone would say, even Yexian Timur was not killed, so why kill them?

Now that Zhang Ximeng has made it clear, he has a solid foundation.

"Sir, there is one more thing, that is, we recruited a female soldier during the defense of the city. She is a strange woman. King Qin broke the drums and beat them impassionedly, which greatly boosted morale. Sir, how should we arrange for this person? "

Zhang Ximeng was also surprised, there are such people?

"Come on, let me see."

Not long after, Zhou Huiniang rushed over wearing a red war jacket, her hands were folded in her sleeves, although beating the drums was no different than playing the pipa, but don’t forget that in order to stir up the sound of the drums, one must hold the drumsticks tightly and beat them continuously, fingers The wound on her chest had already burst open, and the white cloth was soaked in blood. The piercing pain made her frown tightly.

Chapter 119 Mr. Can Be a Sage

Zhou Huiniang didn't have too many decorations, she just simply tied her hair and wore a bright red battle jacket, and she came lightly, with a heroic figure, full of bookish spirit, rushing toward her face.

This woman's appearance is naturally excellent, but at first glance, the most touching thing is that kind of elegance.It really seems to be soaked in ink.

Geng Junyong and his father are both rough people, it's hard to feel, at most, there is a feeling that this woman is unusual.But Zhang Ximeng could feel the brilliance of self-confidence after reading poetry and books, from the inside out.

In the past, Zhang Ximeng would not have felt it, but he studied with Jia Lu in the past two years, and finally managed to raise his level a bit, and squeezed into the ranks of high-end scholars. But even so, Zhang Ximeng asked himself, he is still better than this woman. Much worse, even ashamed.

Zhang Ximeng invited her to sit down and asked directly, "What's your name?"

"My name is Zhou Huiniang." The woman agreed very simply, with her head lowered, her eyes fixed, and she didn't say anything extra.

Zhang Ximeng was stunned, then smiled and said: "I am an experienced officer of the commander and envoy. The girl is willing to join the army and fights side by side with the soldiers. She is already a member of the army. I just talk to the girl normally, without any other meaning. After all If girls want to join the army, they must understand each other clearly."

Zhou Huiniang nodded, "I understand." She stopped talking again.

Zhang Ximeng said in his heart that you didn't take the initiative to speak, which made me very embarrassed... How on earth are you going to break the deadlock?He thought for a while, let's talk about her biggest feature!

"Has the girl ever read a book?"

Zhou Huiniang nodded slightly, "I have read it a little... Mr. is young and holds a high position, so he should have read poetry and books."

Zhang Ximeng laughed at himself, "I was just trying to catch ducks on the shelves... When I was young, my father gave me enlightenment, but he didn't want me to pursue fame, so I just read some in a hurry. Although I read a lot, I didn't have any rules. Later, I defected to the lord and was in charge of the paperwork, so I had to pick up the books and study hard for a while, not wanting to make mistakes. It’s just that I’m not like those people who have the heart of imperial examinations and fame. I don’t have ten years of hardship. It’s a lot worse. Miss, although I haven’t seen her poems, but if you can play Qin Wang’s broken drum, you must have a big mountain in your heart. In terms of literary talent, you should be far above me.”

Zhou Huiniang listened silently, her heart seemed to move, and she praised: "Sir, you are too modest. The division of land you have proposed is thoughtful and well-intentioned. Compared with the previous generations, it is not much better, but you are so young, and you will have a bright future in the future." Limited edition, even Xiao He and Chen Ping, cannot be compared."

Zhang Ximeng was taken aback by these words, "How did the girl know that I wrote the Tian Ling, and where did you read it?"

Zhou Huiniang couldn't help smiling, she didn't answer Zhang Ximeng's words, but said with a smile: "Mr. asked me about studying, and said that people in the world study hard for ten years in order to gain fame in the imperial examination... But Mr. knows that there is another kind of suffering in this world." read it?"

Zhang Ximeng was startled, and said honestly, "I don't know!"

"Well, the little girl dared to say... That kind of hard study is that if you can't memorize an article a day, you can't recognize three hundred characters, and you can't write ten poems, you will starve. To be sent to a low-class place, to serve traffickers, pawns, and rough men... Only after suffering, reading, knowing everything about poetry, poetry, calligraphy, and painting, can you be on the boat, like a talented scholar, a scholar, Let's talk about poetry and Fu, and become a courtesan that everyone admires." Zhou Huiniang raised her head and smiled at Zhang Ximeng, "Sir, you think this kind of hard study is better than a scholar's ten years of hard work, so what?"

Zhang Ximeng was startled suddenly, as if he understood something.

Ancient brothels can also distinguish between three, six, and nine grades. For those traffickers, pawns, and lower Liba people who are happy for a while, it is naturally the lowest. There are some who are born ugly, and some are old and decrepit. Basically, there is no particularity. There are even secret prostitutes who do not open their business.

A little higher, it is necessary to sing, dance and sing, be able to speak well, and serve the guests as if they were at home.

It's just that these are not considered top-notch, the highest level, of course, is the history collection, poems and songs, everything, writing poems and paintings, being able to confront those talented scholars, not falling behind, talking about poems and papers, and even being able to give Inspired by those top literary talents.

Only such a strange woman is worthy of the title of oiran, able to deal with high-ranking officials and dignitaries, perform art without selling herself, be sought after and admired by thousands of literati, casually play a song, and someone will spend a lot of money, just for the beauty smile.

Zhou Huiniang is the king who emerged from the fan circle in Yangzhou.

In terms of appearance alone, she is not much better than Xuejiao, but her literary talent is a thousand times better than Xuejiao's, so she can stand out from the crowd and stand alone.

Everyone thinks that this woman is beautiful and gifted, so she can have an unparalleled talent that is a thousand times better than that of a man.

But it wasn't until now that Zhang Ximeng realized that her talent was actually forced, beaten, and soaked in Coptis chinensis.

"Hey, the brothel is a devil's den. From top to bottom, there is no one who is not suffering! There are no talented people, beautiful women, romantic stories, but cannibalism!"

Zhang Ximeng sighed, but Zhou Huiniang was quite shocked. How well said, it is eating people!

"Sir, do you know that it's not enough just to have literary talents and poetry! If you want to stand out among thousands of women, you need special skills."

"Special ability?"

"Well, you must understand the overall situation and the general trend of the world. To be honest, in the tenth year of Zhizheng, someone told me about the White Lotus Sect and Monk Peng's Peng Party. Later, the one-eyed stone man came out, and the world was in chaos. More There are countless officials and talents who come to our boat and talk about red scarves everywhere. We have to use the skills we have learned to dissect and relieve their worries, talk to these talents and scholars, and become confidants! Without this In terms of ability, you can only use your appearance to deal with people, and when your appearance eventually ages, it will naturally fall to the bottom."

Zhang Ximeng was shocked again!Actually learn this!