Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 992 The Third Brocade Box

Being pointed at and scolded by Zhu Xiongying, a teenager who was only a little over ten years old, Alutai's face turned pale. However, he still didn't want to believe what Zhu Xiongying said, and argued with his head held high: "Nonsense! It's all nonsense!"

"The grassland is the grassland of our Mongolians. How can the people of the grassland have their hearts on you Han people?"

"The steppes of the Mongols?"

"Before the Mongols, there were the Jurchens. Before the Jurchens, there were the Khitans. Before the Khitans, there were the Turks, the Xianbei, and the Xiongnu..."

"When did the Mongolian names appear on this grassland? Mongolia has been rising for more than a hundred years, so why can't we Han people rule the grassland?"

"My royal ancestor has already taken away the destiny of the nine provinces from you Mongolians... Can't we take away the destiny of the grasslands?"

"You!" Aluta's face changed again, but he searched his mind but could not find a single word to refute.

Zhu Xiongying had lost interest in arguing with him, and turned to Chang Mao and said, "Uncle, take him away."

"This man is overrated, he is nothing more than a villain who harms the people on the grassland... There is nothing much to say."

"Oh, I thought he was a big shot, but he turned out to be just a fool."

"I, an old man, understand the principle of 'water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it', but this bastard is still stubborn and refuses to learn." Chang Mao was disdainful and gave a four-character evaluation:
"It's not unfair to lose!"

After saying this, he waved his hand and had someone take Aluta away and keep him under guard.

These four words were like a thunderclap, which shook Alutai. Even when he was lifted up by two Ming soldiers, he still looked distraught, staring blankly at his toes, muttering: "The Ming Dynasty has taken the mandate of heaven? Why should I bother? How can a few lowly slaves mislead me? My defeat is not the fault of war, but the misleading of heaven..."

Seeing him still mumbling as he was dragged away, Xu Zengshou laughed and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is very sharp. Alutai was foolish and stupid when he left. I'm afraid he was scolded and went crazy."

"Your Highness's feat today can rival that of Zhuge Kongming, the one who scolded Wang Lang to death!"

"He is confined to his own heart, thinking that he is of noble status, and is unwilling to admit that he has lost to the hearts of the common people... He is just stubborn. It is not worth mentioning." Zhu Xiongying smiled. "As the military supervisor, I still need to report the victory to the court for you all."

"I also ask all uncles to inform Xiongying of the war situation so that Xiongying can commend our army for its achievements."

All the generals were delighted when they heard this. Who wouldn't be happy to report a victory? So one by one, they told him in detail about their experiences and gains.

Fang Xiaoru and Xie Jin had prepared paper and pen for Zhu Xiongying. Zhu Xiongying listened carefully and wrote down the details of the battle with Fang and Xie. This was just a rough record, and it would need to be investigated and compared later.

But his identity as the crown prince was there after all, and this battle was a coordinated fight among all the armies. Everyone could see what each troop did, so there was no way to hide any tricks.

Therefore, the achievements verbally reported by these generals are basically the truth.

After the merits were listed, Chang Mao, Xu Zengshou, Ye Wang and others who captured the Tatar bandit leader were credited with the greatest merit. However, to everyone's surprise, Guilichi, Hulegen, Chahan and other naturalized Mongols who instigated civil strife among the Tatars also topped the list of merits.

During the fire that night, Guilichi and his men set fires everywhere, sparking civil strife among the Tatars. They also went around arguing over the pros and cons and gathering people to surrender. Nearly half of the Tatar soldiers lost their will to fight because of their activeness.

Even though there were other Tatar soldiers prepared to fight to the death at that time, their activeness also caused great chaos within the Tatar tribe. These grassland cavalrymen who came and went like the wind became headless flies and could only be slaughtered by the Ming army.

Therefore, whether it was Chang Mao's troops or Ye Wang and Xu Zengshou's troops, they all affirmed the merits of these naturalized Mongols and gave high praise to Guilichi and others.

"Although you are not generals, you are still able to perform your duties conscientiously even when you are in a tiger's den, and have made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty... I will report your achievements to the emperor truthfully. I believe that soon, news about your rewards will be sent from Yingtian." Zhu Xiongying also looked at Guilichi and others with praise.

Several people were overjoyed and left their seats to kneel before Zhu Xiongying: "Thank you, Your Highness!"

"There are still many people in distress on the grassland. Our Ming Dynasty's benevolent policy on the grassland has just begun, and we need your help." Zhu Xiongying encouraged.

Guilichi was so moved that he knelt down to express his loyalty, saying that he was willing to die for the great cause of the Ming Dynasty. Chahan's eyes flashed with relief, feeling relieved that he had made the right bet in the end and won huge benefits for himself.

Zhu Xiongying smiled, but secretly noticed the expressions of the others. After training in Daning, he was no longer the ignorant grandson who was protected by his father and grandfather in Yingtian City.

He calmly picked up his pen and added to the memorial of commendation:

"Gui Lichi is a special person. He is a descendant of the Golden Family and is determined to follow the Ming Dynasty to change the poor situation on the grassland. He can be used."

"But people like Chahan are only able to judge the situation. If they are given real power, they may cause great trouble for Taining Guard."

"I, Sun, believe that we can allow the people of the grasslands to take the imperial examinations, and select those who follow our great Ming righteousness, such as Gui Lichi, to serve as officials..."

Over the past few months, Zhu Xiongying has deeply experienced the importance of military and public morale.

……

After the performance, it was time to eat. Everyone followed Zhu Xiongying and Chang Mao out of the tent. But before eating, Zhu Xiongying arranged a process to remember the fallen soldiers. As the sad trumpet sounded, the whole army of Daning was solemn and closed their eyes in silence.

This solemn and dignified atmosphere made Ye Wang, Xu Zengshou and other friendly soldiers who came to support them feel their hair stand on end and their hearts beating slightly.

After the moment of silence, Zhu Xiongying, the military supervisor, raised his wine bowl.

"All soldiers! Listen to my orders!"

Tens of thousands of Daning soldiers raised their wine bowls in unison.

"Sacrifice the dead soul!"

As Zhu Xiongying poured the wine in his bowl with a solemn look on his face, tens of thousands of Daning soldiers also poured the first bowl of celebratory wine in their hands on the ground to offer to their comrades who died in the battle. The aroma of wine filled the air, but the military camp was silent. In the eyes of Ye Wang, Xu Zengshou and others, it seemed that they saw the majestic military spirit rising from the soldiers of this army.

"United will makes us stronger, and the military spirit is condensed... Can this new military system really train such an invincible army?" For a moment, these foreign military generals were all envious of the new military system.

After the memorial ceremony for the fallen soldiers, the celebration banquet was held. The military camp was filled with the aroma of wine and meat, and everyone was having a great time. The generals were no exception. The foreign army leaders pulled the soldiers of the Daning army one by one and asked them about the details of Daning's trial of the new military system. They learned about the changes in the Daning army and that Guilichi, who persuaded many Tatar soldiers to surrender, was the credit of the new military system, and they couldn't help but praise it.

In the big tent, Xu Zengshou, relying on his status as a member of the Xu family, had already chatted with Zhu Xiongying, who was of the same age. After three rounds of drinking, Xu Zengshou and Zhu Xiongying talked about the plan to annihilate the Tatars. When he learned that the plan actually came from the secret letter in the brocade box left by Zhu Su, he couldn't help but praise him and said, "I once had the chance to see my brother-in-law when I was still a teenager living in Yingtian."

"At that time, I felt that my brother-in-law was an unusual person, but I didn't expect that he could win the battle from thousands of miles away!"

"If it weren't for my brother-in-law's planning, it would not be easy to capture these loach-like Tatars! He even thought that when Arutai Ben Yashili and others were in danger, they would definitely fight among themselves!"

"If they hadn't disagreed at the critical moment and delayed for a while, we might not have been able to seize the opportunity!"

"Did my brother-in-law tell us in the secret letter what caused those guys to disagree?" Xu Zengshou asked curiously.

"...I am also confused about this matter. As for other matters, such as inciting civil strife among the Tatar soldiers and the purpose of arson, my fifth uncle explained them in detail in his secret letter. Perhaps he was trying to teach me." Zhu Xiongying said.

"But Uncle Wu did not mention the reason why Alutai and Benyashiri fought against each other, nor did he use any means."

"It's as if he already knew this would happen."

"...This is impossible. My brother-in-law is far away in Yingtian, how can he grasp their mentality and thoughts so accurately?" Xu Zengshou said in surprise.

Zhu Xiongying was also puzzled.

The two men could not have imagined that the reason why Zhu Su could predict in advance that Arutai and Bayanchur would definitely disagree when facing danger was because of later history… In later history, Arutai and Bayanchur, the pair of monarch and minister, chose to go their separate ways when the army of Ming Chengzu Zhu Di was approaching, and when disaster struck, they each went their separate ways.

As a result, the Tatars declined, and the Oirat took advantage of the situation to rise and became a new threat to the Ming Dynasty...

In this timeline, the Oirat Mongols are no longer a force to be reckoned with. Now that the threat of the Tatars has been resolved, the northern border of the Ming Dynasty can truly rest easy.

"...By the way, didn't the Crown Prince say that your brother-in-law left you three brocade boxes? Isn't there one left now?"

"Now that the matter in the northern border is done, why not open the last brocade box to open my eyes?" Xu Zengshou instigated.

Of the three brocade boxes, one was for use when entering dangerous areas. Inside was a waist badge of the Prince Zhou Palace that could mobilize the spies of merchants in the northern border, allowing him to know the movements of various tribes in the grassland in advance and avoid danger;
The second one was a secret letter that stated how to defeat the enemy. It contained detailed arrangements on how to defeat the Tatar tribe, enabling him to use a small effort to achieve a great result, thereby stirring up civil strife among the Tatars and making them lose their way, allowing the Ming Dynasty to take advantage of the situation.

As for the last brocade box, it was said to be for him to use in case he was in danger and had nowhere to go. Now that the Tatars were destroyed and the territory around him was the Ming Dynasty, he would not be in any danger. Moreover, Zhu Xiongying was also very curious at this time, so he agreed to Xu Zengshou's request.

After asking someone to bring the brocade box, the two men opened it at the celebration banquet. When everyone was looking forward to seeing if there was any brilliant strategy in the box, Zhu Xiongying took out a monk's robe and a razor from the brocade box.

"Uh, what does my brother-in-law mean?" Xu Zengshou asked puzzledly.

"Well, could it be that if the Crown Prince is in danger, he can shave his hair, dress up as a monk and escape?" Chang Mao guessed.

"Well, how is that possible? Shaving your head, changing clothes, covering your face and running around, that's just cowardice."

"I am the grandson of the Hongwu Emperor. I am the great Ming Dynasty. How could I do something that would bring shame to my ancestors and the Ming Dynasty?"

"I guess this is just a joke played on me by my fifth uncle!"

Zhu Xiongying guessed.

……

Just when Zhu Xiongying and Yu Daning had accomplished their mission and were celebrating joyfully, at this time in the Zhou Palace, King Zhu Su of Zhou, who had won the battle thousands of miles away and was praised to the sky by a group of northern border generals, looked at a loss and was pacing anxiously in the yard.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!"

"How is it? Is the baby born?" Upon hearing someone calling, Zhu Su quickly grabbed the person's shoulders and shook him.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, please wait a minute... You are making me dizzy..." The person who called Zhu Su was the old servant Xiangdeng. Xiangdeng was very old, and Zhu Su's tossing and turning almost cost him half his life.

Seeing that he was indeed seeing stars, Zhu Su quickly let go of his hand, but his face was still anxious, and he kept asking, "How is it, is the baby born or not?"

"Is the princess safe?"

"Your Highness, I came in from outside, how can I know the situation of the princess inside?" Xiang Deng said with a wry smile. This prince, whom he had seen grow up, was always calm and wise. How could he have ever seen him so panicked?

"I came to see Your Highness to tell you that His Majesty has arrived!"

"Hmm? You're just causing more trouble... Go, find someone to ask how the princess is doing. It's been half a day..."

Hearing that it was not the princess, Zhu Su's expression relaxed for a moment, but then tensed up again, and he sent Xiang Deng, a eunuch, to the inner house to inquire about the situation. Today was the day when Princess Xu Miaoyun gave birth to a child. Whether in his previous life or this life, Zhu Su was a parent for the first time.

Now he has completely integrated into this era. At this moment, his heart is at a loss, and his mind is completely focused on his wife and children.

After all, the medical skills of this era are really not good enough. Especially in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, the methods are even more poor. Even Dai Sigong, a national master, is not good at this.

Therefore, Zhu Su is now somewhat worried and panic-stricken, fearing that something unspeakable has happened to his relatives.

"Look at you, you're so anxious just because your wife gave birth to a son..." Outside, Old Zhu had already stepped through the hanging flower gate and walked in.

The emperor's visit, even though it was to his own son's residence, was a rare favor. You know, except for the birth of Zhu Xiongying in the crown prince's family, when the second and third sons had sons, due to etiquette, he, Zhu, had never personally gone to the palace to wait.

This time, he deliberately sent away the ceremonial officer and went incognito to Lao Wu's mansion, but Lao Wu still despised him... Lao Zhu was so angry that he laughed.

Perhaps because of his emotions, Old Zhu deliberately looked at Zhu Su with contempt: "Learn from me and show some tolerance."

"I also gave birth to a son a few days ago, but I wasn't as anxious as you."

"...How can it be the same? You have given me more than a dozen brothers, so you are already familiar with it..."

Zhu Su couldn't help but complain. Perhaps because he had more free time in recent years, Old Zhu had given birth to many children in the palace.

The number of Zhu's sons has reached more than 20. If they continue to have more children, the foreign territories conquered by the Ming Dynasty will not be enough for Zhu's sons to be granted.

(End of this chapter)