First Minister of Ming Dynasty

After talking about Zhang Desheng, it was Chang Yuchun, who won Tongling first, and broke Naha's charge, which gave him sufficient capital and rewards.

But facing Lao Zhu, Chang Yuchun had no reason to be discouraged, for fear of bad luck.

But Lao Zhu was in a good mood today, and even encouraged Chang Yuchun a few words, and promised to let him return to his post as a thousand households, and he would be promoted after he had military exploits.

Chang Yuchun secretly heaved a sigh of relief, finally he did not make a mistake.

After these military generals met, it was the turn of civil servants.

Zhu Sheng, Tao An, Li Xi, and several people bowed together to pay respects to the superior.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at them and said with a smile: "The gentlemen are all famous scholars in the south of the Yangtze River. What should we do next? Please enlighten me?"

After a pause, Tao An immediately said: "Jinling is the capital of emperors, with tigers dominating dragons and dragons, and the Yangtze River is naturally dangerous. The superior should plan it as soon as possible!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said again: "After entering Jinling, can you be called emperor? Can you be called king?"

Tao An was speechless for a moment, he never thought about it.

At this time, Zhu Sheng said calmly: "To conquer the world, build walls high, accumulate grain widely, and become king slowly! Build walls high, strengthen the fundamental land, accumulate grain widely, and become king slowly... It can prevent the Quartet from attacking. After entering Jinling, the superior can only be called Marshal.”

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up, and he said pleasantly, "What Mr. said is as if it came from our heart!"

Zhang Ximeng breathed a sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart, and said with a smile, "My lord, Mr. Fenglin is a great talent in the world. With his advice, I don't have to rush the ducks to the shelves!"

Chapter 161 Three Disciplines

Zhu Sheng revealed the nine-character mantra, which really shocked Zhu Yuanzhang. Although he has heard a lot of similar suggestions, but this old man can say it so concisely and accurately, at least his level should not be bad.

Even if it's not as good as Zhang Ximeng, it's still on the same level as Li Shanchang and Jia Lu, and it's worthy of reuse.

But talent is one aspect, this person is not reliable, Zhu Yuanzhang is hard to say, he still needs to observe for a while.Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang could only say that he was affectionate to this group of civil and military crossing the river, and did not dare to trust too much.

There are still very few people who are qualified to participate in strategic decision-making.

"Sir, we happen to have something to talk to you about, and we can't come up with an idea, so don't worry!"

Zhang Ximeng was taken aback, but he could only nod his head. He knew what Zhu Yuanzhang meant, and he was very sensible and didn't bring anyone else over, just the two of them.

"What do you think we are going to do next?"

Zhang Ximeng said: "What I mean is that my lord captures Taiping Mansion as soon as possible, and then enters Jinling to lay the foundation for the overall situation in the southeast. If we can capture Pingjiang Mansion (Suzhou) in the east, collect Anqing in the west, and break through the southeast, then the big thing will surely come true! "

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, and he said again: "How many soldiers and horses did you gather in the south of the Yangtze River?"

"This...Tongling, Chizhou, and Naha's subordinates have a total of more than 5000 people. In addition, after the Chaohu Navy has been rectified, there are more than 1 people. We really don't have many soldiers." Zhang Ximeng said To tell you the truth, he also understood what Lao Zhu was thinking, so he said: "My lord, do you think the whole army should come first?"

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed deeply, "We defeated the Yuan army in Liuhe and Tianchang, and gathered a lot of prisoners under Gaoyou City. Now in the battle with Zhou, we have captured almost 5 to 3 people, plus 2 to [-] from Jiangnan. People, adding up the front and back, the number of prisoners has already passed [-], and our old subordinates at the time were only more than [-]. One to five! How to control these people? Besides, we have a worry, if these prisoners The Yuan army led our soldiers to the ground, wouldn't it be a failure!"

Zhang Ximeng was terrified, such a formidable Zhu Yuanzhang, he really saw the crux of the problem.

In fact, Zhang Ximeng also noticed it, but he wanted to rectify after he was stationed in Jinling, but Zhu Yuanzhang obviously didn't think so.

"Mr. is different from us. You don't know what it's like to suffer from childhood. When Yangzhou was taken, it was time to rectify it. But then there was a war with the state, and then we had to cross the river. There were more and more people, and the territory It's getting bigger and bigger, but our hearts are always hanging in the air, for fear that something big will happen. Jinling's colorful world is the most charming eyes, we are afraid that those old brothers may not be able to bear it!"

Zhang Ximeng was more and more frightened by Lao Zhu's intuition. For such a long time, although Zhang Ximeng could do things perfectly and beautifully, the real strategic decisions were made by Lao Zhu. What is amazing is that Zhu Yuanzhang never missed major events.

On this point, Zhang Ximeng also threw himself into the ground.

"What the lord said is very true. Now that Zhang Shicheng is still recovering, Xu Shouhui can't reach us for the time being. But the lord killed the horse and captured Tujian and Chen Yexian. Jinling is already within easy reach. Rectify the soldiers and horses, and strictly enforce military discipline. , I think it's very suitable, but I don't know what the Lord is going to do?"

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a while, and then said: "What else can we do, knock the mountain to shake the tiger, and kill a hundred. Pick a few bastards, let's skin them, and those gangs will know what to do."

Zhang Ximeng couldn't help grinning, he was really Zhu Yuanzhang!

After careful inspection, Lao Zhu has been doing this all his life, and it seems that the effect is not bad, at least he broke out the prosperity of Hongwu.It is absolutely impossible to simply understand Lao Zhu's murder as a person who has a problem with his brain and just likes to kill... If that is the case, Zhu Yuanzhang is absolutely incapable of ruling the world.Everyone knows what the result of the one who likes to slaughter cities is, at most he can be an overlord.

Lao Zhu not only sat firmly in the dragon chair, but also quickly restored people's livelihood, with outstanding results.Then I have to talk about his art of killing. To some extent, Lao Zhu's killing is more like being eliminated at the bottom.

Regularly remove some dross, 5.00% or [-]% every year... From civil servants to generals, from those who crossed the river to those before crossing the river, from sparse to relatives... just like old farmers plowing the land, As long as you commit a crime, you cannot escape death.

And Zhu Yuanzhang's murder is very interesting. He didn't do it casually, but every time he killed one, he had to have sufficient crimes and strictly follow the laws of the country.

Some cases may seem excessive in later generations, but judging from the legal level in the early Ming Dynasty, they are definitely iron cases.

Take Hu Dahai as an example. He led the army in the front. Lao Zhu found Hu Dahai's son. His subordinates all advised Lao Zhu not to kill him...but Zhu Yuanzhang handled it cleanly.

We would rather Hu Haihai rebelled than destroy the law!

It turned out that Hu Dahai was more loyal than anyone else, he fought for old Zhu, and put his life on the line.

If you have a little understanding of Zhu Yuanzhang's behavior style, you will understand that the higher the status and the greater the influence, the more legitimate it is.As for what kind of goose meat is used to harm people, it is basically a folk fabrication, nonsense that cannot be put on the table.If Lao Zhu wanted to kill Xu Da, he would definitely kill the grass and root out the roots. After all, Xu Da had too much influence to leave any hidden dangers behind.

That being the case, can killing people with goose meat cut off party feathers?

Certainly not!

So at Xu Da's level, if he didn't do it, or if he did, it must be treason... In fact, Xu Da just died of a normal illness.

Military generals of their age were born and died, and they were covered in pain. They can live to be more than 50 years old, which is considered a long life.

"My lord, I agree with you in principle." Zhang Ximeng said carefully.

"In principle?"

"It is to stand at the height of the overall situation, from a macro perspective, and aiming at the whole army as a whole, it really needs thunderbolt means, with a firm attitude, implement military law, strictly enforce military discipline, realize the unity of the whole team, and use the fingers like arms. Create the maximum value of the team and realize the soldiers. The ecological transformation of space will create the most tenacious Great Wall of Discipline for the master to fight for world hegemony!"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, and the more he listened, the more he frowned, "You speak humanly to us!"

"Speaking of human beings, can we be a little more flexible on the details, such as clarifying some disciplines first, organizing and implementing them, and for first-time offenders, we can be a little lenient. Only those who persist in their evil will be severely punished?"

Old Zhu snorted coldly, "After all, don't you still want us to be merciful?"

"It's not soft!" Zhang Ximeng said seriously: "My lord, the essence of punishment is to make people vigilant. Therefore, as long as the price paid is far higher than the income, it will be fine. For example, if a person steals a chicken, he will be beaten twenty times. It's enough to be bruised and bruised and unable to get out of bed for half a month. But if you steal a chicken, you have to cut off its head. Although the punishment is severe enough, it weakens the authority of beheading. I will die if I do anything, so fortunately I will do it recklessly, as long as I don’t get discovered.”

"What do you think my lord thinks?"

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a long time, and said slowly: "Sir, if you do this, will you be too indulgent, making those people think that they can escape punishment by luck, and then act recklessly?"

Zhang Ximeng said: "My lord is indeed right to be worried. Given the current situation in the army, it will indeed be like this. It is said that the good people will not be wronged, but how many people investigate the case, and how many things can be investigated... In the end, it is still difficult. It will let many villains go unpunished, leaving military law as nothing... So my idea is to increase the law enforcement force, and set up special personnel in the army, who are mainly responsible for preaching military law. Let the soldiers know clearly, and at the same time, there must be law enforcement. Violations of military law must be dealt with as soon as possible, and in front of soldiers, be severely punished and serve as a warning to the hearts of the people, so as to be effective."

Old Zhu was slightly taken aback, it sounded good, but he wasn't sure what it could do.

"Since that's the case, let's do what you want... But if it doesn't work, we'll have to ask, and we have to do what we want!"

Zhang Ximeng hurriedly said: "I just turned my lord's idea into a plan that can be implemented. I don't have any ideas. Even if I have, I firmly disagree with my ideas!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a long time before he understood what Zhang Ximeng meant... Old Zhu laughed angrily, are we so scary?

"Okay, you can do it with confidence and boldly. If something happens, let's take care of it. This is the head office, right?"

Zhang Ximeng got his wish. In fact, he prefers to reorganize the army...to strengthen military discipline, organize logistics, train talents, and establish a management system.This is also what he is good at.

Compared with a knife and a gun, it is much safer to fight desperately on the battlefield.

Therefore, after Lao Zhu crossed the river, Zhang Ximeng quickly gave up his position as the commander of the navy, and no matter whether it was water, land, soldiers or horses, it was under the direct control of Lao Zhu.

Moreover, when Zhang Ximeng revised the memorandum in the future, he deliberately played down this matter. He has never been a governor!Don't put hats on our heads!

After two days of busy work, Zhang Ximeng announced the first batch of military disciplines.

The first of which is that all actions follow the command.

This is the root of the root.

Any strong army must be united as one, like arms and fingers, obedient, obey orders, and overcome difficulties.

Not to mention the negative examples. The Yuan army was defeated all the way, and it lost in military discipline.

Whether it is on land or in the Yangtze River Navy, the general can't order his subordinates. The people below have their own ghosts, plotting against each other, and selfishness.

Such soldiers and horses, how can they be undefeated!

In addition to obeying orders, it is not allowed to disturb the people, not to rob the people, not to live in the houses of the people, even if it is a stitch of the people, they are not allowed to touch.

It must be known that the foundation of Zhu's army lies in the hearts of the people. If they lose the hearts of the people, there will be nothing left.

Another point is that due to continuous combat, a considerable number of Yuan armies were defeated. On the battlefield, there were quite a lot of armored weapons, horses, luggage, and even gold and silver treasures.

No one is allowed to keep it privately, it must be handed over, and then it will be distributed uniformly according to the merits and urgent needs.

If anyone quarrels with each other because of the capture, and a serious situation occurs, or even hurts or kills, the principal culprit will be sentenced to death!

Zhang Ximeng wrote it clearly, anyone who dares to grab the loot indiscriminately and refuses to obey the management will lose his head.

All of these boil down to the core of obeying orders.

In addition, Zhang Ximeng also formulated some codes of conduct, such as speaking kindly, buying and selling fairly, returning borrowed things, compensating for damaged things, not beating and swearing, not damaging crops, not molesting women, not ill-treating captives... Especially the last one, Zhang Ximeng Strict regulations were enacted regarding the issue of captives.

First of all, for those who voluntarily surrender and are able to fight back and assist in defeating the enemy, they are defined as uprisings. The uprising team must refer to Zhu's army's standards. Even if they do not meet the requirements, they must be properly arranged.

Secondly, under the pressure of the army, those who know that there is no hope and surrender voluntarily are surrenders and must be dealt with properly.

Finally, those who were captured in battle should be defined as prisoners of war. They need to be strictly educated, and they cannot easily be incorporated into the army. They also have to work for a period of time.

In addition to these, Zhang Ximeng once again brought out several previous military disciplines, and warned everyone not to gamble, to drink too much, not to bring women into the barracks privately, and not to go out to visit brothels.Also, for weapons, they must be properly protected, not damaged, and not sold without permission.

The carriages of the war horses must be properly maintained. Also, food must not be wasted, and soldiers’ salaries and vegetable money are not allowed to be corrupted. Every purchase must have detailed accounts, which must be disclosed regularly and accepted by everyone.

There are more than one hundred codes of conduct in total.

Faced with these things, including the Chaohu navy, they were all dumbfounded... Isn't Zhu Jiajun too strict?

Chapter 162 Enlightenment in Prison

This set of military regulations drawn up by Zhang Ximeng looks complicated, but it is actually very simple. As long as they are distinguished, it is easy to understand... For example, there are military regulations that require tidy clothes and hats, regular bathing, and personal hygiene. Then wait.

There are also regulations for military finances. For example, military salaries must be paid to each soldier, and no deductions are allowed. When purchasing military supplies, substandard goods are not allowed, and shortfalls are not allowed. Expenditures must be made public on a regular basis and subject to evaluation.

Then there is the personal behavior of soldiers, no gambling, no drinking, no visiting brothels, etc.

The rest, such as obedience to military orders, capture and return to the public, and keeping secrets, etc., are the regulations on combat... So after some sorting out, you will find that these regulations can be regarded as reasonable and not too complicated.

But the problem is that in the eyes of some newly attached generals, this is too unforgivable.

How to basic necessities of life, food, drink and toilet, everything is taken care of.

Do you want to give them some power?

May I ask which family's army does not control its own soldiers?

Then how will we command soldiers to fight in the future?What if they are not afraid of us and do not obey military orders?

There were messy voices everywhere, but it was obvious that these people didn't dare to directly target Zhang Ximeng.And since he had just joined, there was no one around Lao Zhu who could talk to him, so he could only complain.

Of course, they still have another method, which is to leave with the initiative and find another way out.

Isn't it okay for me to invest yuan?

Some Yuan troops in Chizhou were ready to jump repeatedly.

But before they could do anything, a batch of military rations was sent from Hezhou.

This is an astonishing thing. As we all know, Hezhou has just experienced war, and the 10 yuan soldiers made a lot of noise, and the crops in many places were destroyed.

No matter how you look at it, it will only reduce production and suffer heavy losses.

Even so, did Hezhou have food delivered?

Facts have proved that not only there are, but there are many!

The devastation of war is obvious, but there is another thing that cannot be overlooked.

That is, after the widespread formation of militias in various places, it is difficult for the Yuan army to enter the countryside wantonly, burn, kill and loot.Moreover, Lao Zhu left Hezhou City to the Yuan army.

In this way, based on a comprehensive estimate, only about [-]% of Hezhou's summer grain was lost.

In addition, because a large number of prisoners were captured, Li Shanchang directly ordered the prisoners to participate in the summer harvest. In this way, the labor force would be sufficient and the food would not have to rot in the fields. For the people of Hezhou, it would definitely be a bumper harvest.

Xia Shou, whom Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Ximeng had been longing for, finally had something to look forward to.The first batch of [-] shi of grain was delivered to the south of the Yangtze River, and there will be more in the future.

Facing the fragrant japonica rice, the soldiers below finally had nothing to say, especially the soldiers of the Chaohu Navy. Luzhou is not far from Hezhou, and they can see how the people of Hezhou are doing.

Many family members wrote letters to the soldiers, telling their children to follow their superiors and strive to grant the land as soon as possible, get the land one day earlier, cultivate it one day earlier, and when the autumn harvest comes, our family will be able to eat white rice.

One side is the family's eager anticipation, and the other is the complaints of the generals. Which side should I listen to?

Most of the soldiers still made wise choices. The superiors are sincerely treating us well. Don’t be stupid. After all these years, who has really given us the land?

At this moment, the Zhu family army in the south of the Yangtze River is in a very strange state... Some generals at the top are reluctant, and feel that there are too many restrictions, too little power, and poor treatment. We are not allowed to deduct military pay, and let people live ?

But ordinary soldiers feel that the superior is a good person and should follow the superior.It's just that they also lack a leader, and they have something to say in their hearts.

In the final analysis, it is still a problem. No matter how talented and brilliant ideas there are, it still needs people to implement them.Propaganda must be done in order to gain the support of soldiers.