The Ming Dynasty started with caution

Early in the morning, in the West Warm Pavilion,

Zhu Houzhao came to the palace and said to the retired emperor Hongzhi: "Father, I want to take a few days off."

The faces of the gentlemen became ugly. Yan Chengjin had just left the capital for one day, and the new emperor didn't want to go to court.

The retired emperor Hongzhi asked with a stern face: "Why?"

"Old Gao is not here, the court is boring, and I want to read military books in the East Palace." Zhu Houzhao bowed seriously and said honestly.

The retired emperor Hongzhi agreed deeply.

The two guys often get together.

Now that Yan Chengjin is not in the capital, just like Xiao Jing is not by his side, Houzhao will feel a little lost.

"Allow me to beg, but if you dare to have a crooked idea, I will never forgive you."

"I know."

After Zhu Houzhao left, the gentlemen sighed.

The new emperor didn't know how to work hard. Just now his face was full of seriousness, and he was clearly lying.

But the new emperor is no longer the crown prince, so he has to keep some face and cannot scold directly.

The retired emperor Hongzhi looked at Xiao Jing: "How many guards are there in the East Palace?"

"Don't worry, there are 800 guards. The corridors, courtyards and walls of the East Palace are all guarded by guards." Xiao Jing said.

Li Dongyang still felt that it was inappropriate, "Retired emperor, why don't you go and take a look?"

Soon, the East Palace.

The retired emperor Hongzhi led the gentlemen to appear in the corridor.

A row of Jinwu guards with swords stood under the palace wall, with a guard every five steps and a sentry every ten steps. Jinyi guards stood on the palace wall, watching the East Palace bedroom.

With such strict guards, if the new emperor ran out of the palace, he would be seen by the guards.

The retired emperor Hongzhi nodded, "Did Houzhao say anything?"

"No complaints, the new emperor is reading and painting in the bedroom." Xiao Jing said.

The gentlemen felt strange.

Five days passed, and Zhu Houzhao was in the bedroom, and the retired emperor Hongzhi and the officials gradually felt relieved.

One day later, Zhu Houzhao asked Gu Dayong: "Is the drawing wrong?"

Gu Dayong smiled and said: "I just checked it. I went to Wenhua Hall. The drawings given by the new emperor are correct."

One day, not long after nightfall.

Zhu Houzhao was lying on the bed and heard the slight collision sound of the gold bricks on the ground. He said happily: "Gu Daban, are you down there?"

"Yes, the new emperor, wait a little longer, wait for me to chisel the gold bricks open."

With a slight cracking sound, the gold bricks under the bed slowly moved away, and a dark tunnel appeared.

Gu Dayong threw away the shovel, poked his head out and said with a smile: "Master, I am here to pick you up."

Zhu Zaikun blinked: "Father, where are we going?"

"Go to Jiangnan to lead the troops to fight. I will now appoint you as a mighty little general. Hurry up and receive the order."

Zhu Houcong looked at Zhu Zaikun and said weakly: "It's too dark, I'm scared."

"Hold my hand."

Zhu Houcong held Zhu Zaikun's hand, and the two were hugged by Zhu Houzhao and put into the cave.

Half a minute later, Manfu Restaurant.

Zhu Houzhao changed into ordinary Confucian clothes, and before the city gates were closed, one person took Zhu Zaikun and the other took Zhu Houcong, and rode south.

Early in the morning, the retired emperor Hongzhi came to Wenhua Hall to discuss matters, and the guards walked in panic: "The new emperor, the new emperor ran away."

Puff~

"Run away?"

The retired emperor Hongzhi was stunned in his seat.

The guards stammered, "The emperor's grandson also ran away."

The retired emperor Hongzhi felt dizzy, his feet were weak, and his mind was severely damaged.

Xiao Jing was already pale with fear. He really didn't know how to lock up Zhu Houzhao. He could run away.

Li Dongyang looked anxious: "Where did he run from?"

The guards whispered, "Captain Yang is still looking for clues. The new emperor went to bed early last night, and there were no lights on..."

"It's useless to dwell on this. Let's send people to chase him quickly. He must have gone to Nanchang." Liu Jian said.

Outside the capital, Guo County.

One of the stops on the Tongzhou section of the Grand Canal is here. In March, the river water has just melted.

Zhu Houzhao rented a small yellow boat and hired six sailors to travel south day and night.

"Old Gao must have reached Dongchang Prefecture by now."

The marching speed of the 300,000-man army southward will not be too fast. Dongchang Prefecture is also on the waterway of the Grand Canal.

Jinyiwei would follow the horse's hoof to track him down. He chose to walk to Guoxian and take a boat, not to catch up with Yan Chengjin, but to avoid leaving any traces.

Zhu Zaikun and Zhu Houcong were sleeping in the warehouse. When they woke up at noon, they were surprised to see the boat sailing on the water.

"Father, I want to play in the water."

"Go ahead."

Seeing that Zhu Zaikun could play in the water, Zhu Houcong blinked at Zhu Houzhao, and seemed to want to play in the water too.

Zhu Houzhao saw that the child was smart, so he said, "Shall I take you as my godson?"

Puff ~

Gu Dayong was eating breakfast, and suddenly, the porridge water sprayed all over the boat.

He hurriedly came over and whispered, "New Emperor, he is your brother."

Zhu Houcong knelt down on the ground, and shouted in a cute and childish way, "My son, I meet my godfather." His little face was smiling, as if everything was worth it for playing in the water.

"Let's go play in the water."

...

Dongchang Prefecture, Liaocheng.

Yan Chengjin held the letter from Concubine Lou in his hand. King Ning was recruiting soldiers in prefectures outside Nanchang City.

Those who were willing to join the bandit camp were given two stones of grain and one piece of cotton cloth every year. In just half a month, another 100,000 soldiers were added.

Now there are 500,000 people. After reading it, Yan Chengjin handed the letter to Xia Zhong and others.

"How do you want to fight, Lord Yan?"

"I haven't thought about it yet. Generals, please leave first."

The 200,000 soldiers and horses in the Nanjing camp are also in urgent need of deployment. There are 450,000 well-equipped military camps, which have a slight chance of victory against King Ning's soldiers and horses.

Mou Bin rode a fast horse and followed the armored carriage, "My dear nephew, the Emperor has decreed that if the new emperor and his grandson come, they will escort their father and son back to the capital."

Yan Chengjin had long known that Zhu Houzhao would leave the palace.

This guy asked him to take command just because he wanted to go south with him. He knew it when he was still in Fengtian Palace.

However, I don’t know how Zhu Houzhao got out of the palace this time.

The army marched through mountains, forests and fields.

It was March, not long after the grain seeds were sown in the fields, and it was the time when the buds were sprouting.

As the saying goes, war hurts farmers, and that's how it is. When the army steps on it, the field becomes barren.

However, Yan Chengjin did not give the order to avoid the route, as the detour would delay the march.

…

Prince Ning's Mansion.

Liu Yangzheng said to Prince Ning: "Your Majesty, we can't delay any longer. If the army cannot capture Jiujiang and Nankang before reaching Nanchang, we will die without a burial place."

The palace is still recruiting troops and has not captured a single city so far, so food and grass are a major waste.

Send troops as soon as possible.

Liu Yang was the most prestigious counselor in the government. Zhu Chenhao also became worried as soon as he said this.

"Where are the troops from the Beijing camp?"

"With the marching speed of the army, we can reach Jiujiang today."

Jiujiang is the throat of the river and an important place for sending troops northward.

Zhu Chenhao's purpose was to defeat the Nanjing army and occupy Nanjing before the Beijing camp arrived in Nanjing.

"Cheng Guogong is a warrior and has no advisers around him. We can easily capture Nanjing and ask for troops to attack." Liu Yangzheng said.

Outside the city, the army rushed towards Nanchang City in a hurry. Zhu Hui, the Duke of Cheng, led 200,000 troops.

"With 200,000 troops and horses alone, we can't capture Nanchang. What's the point of Yan Chengjin ordering me to come here?"

The counselor Qian Jie on the side said: "It should be to contain King Ning and prevent him from going north to Nanjing."

"But how did he know that the rebels were going to attack Nanjing?"

Zhu Hui led his troops to station outside Nanchang City, and Yan Chengjin ordered no fighting.

I don’t know if this kid can fight.

Only with three times more troops can we easily capture the city.

Even if the northern and southern armies merged, they would not be able to defeat King Ning's 500,000 troops.

In addition, King Ning purchased more than 40 Franji generals, making it extremely easy to defend the city.

Qian Jie also nodded: "Let King Ning's army leave the city so that we can win. I don't know what Yan Chengjin means.

However, now that Yan Chengjin is in charge, I'd better wait for him to come first. "