The winter in Beiping was dry and cold. All the grass and trees had withered, and there was not a single green leaf to be seen in the city. The entire city was filled with houses, as if it was built in the desert.
Only the colorful lacquer paintings on the palace in Prince Zhao's mansion added a bit of color between heaven and earth.
Prince of Zhao Zhu Gaosui liked to sit on the throne in the front hall, burn a whole row of smokeless charcoal in the main hall to keep it warm, and then listen to the civil and military ministers talking about this and that in a condescending manner.
The face of the palace's chief official was very red. He was trying hard to explain some complicated content. "There are roughly three major forces in the north. Although this is biased, it is difficult to distinguish the ones that are fighting each other, but this is the only way to roughly explain it...
After the Northern Yuan Khan Toghon Temur was killed, the tribes called
It is already the end of October, and the eleventh lunar month, known as the winter month, is beckoning ahead.The Han army had successfully crossed the Jinsha River. What impressed Zhu Gaoxu the most was the scene when he climbed up a high mountain cliff and looked down at the river after crossing the river. It seemed like an aerial painting in front of him.Between the green mountains, gray stones and brown soil, the light yellow river meanders, like a huge snake suddenly entrenched in it.Just as Qu Neng said, as you go upstream along the river, the terrain becomes increasingly different in elevation, and the water flows rapidly in many places; if the wind direction is not right, it is almost impossible for a wooden boat to go upstream in such a place.However, in the winding places like a "coiled giant snake", the water flows much more gently, and the river is slightly narrower during the dry season, so even a simple small boat can cross the river.
The sun had already set behind the hillside, houses, treetops, etc., and the surrounding objects were still visible, but gradually became slightly blurred. Zhu Gaoxu walked to the blue-tiled pavilion built by civil engineering.Sichuan Province is a basin, but the plain area seems to be small. Zhu Gaoxu has not seen a real plain so far. There are also mountains in Luzhou. Standing on the pavilion, you can see the unique streets outside the garden... The narrow hillside road paved with old stone slabs, with small shops on both sides, makes people feel very quiet and lonely.There are some big houses with large tiles on the roof, which look small and dense. People with trypophobia may feel uncomfortable. Such a big roof and so many tiles make people worry that it will collapse; however, those houses look very old and are obviously still solid.Miao Jin said goodbye, leaving Zhu Gaoxu standing alone behind the wooden railing. There were many soldiers walking ar
The water level of Tuojiang River was very low, revealing gray-yellow sand and stones. It looked like only half of a river was left, or like a giant snake that was shedding its skin.On the flat river dam, the infantry marched in a line in a very coordinated pace. The vehicles and wheelbarrows pulled by mules and horses were also slowly moving northward; on the hilly road to the west, many cavalry were also walking slowly. The large number of people and horses on the river bank was a spectacular scene.Zhu Gaoxu rode his horse slowly in the procession, surrounded by people in front and behind. Only at this speed could he keep pace with the large number of infantry and baggage. He didn't put his hands on the reins, but looked down at a map, as if he was taking a leisurely stroll."Are we almost at Zi County (north of Neijiang)?" Zhu Gaoxu looked up at the surrounding scenery.A general beside him said, "Your Majesty, we will definitely arrive this after
It was less than 300 li from Jiading Prefecture to Chengdu Prefecture, while it was about 300 li from Zixian to Longquanyi, and there were still dozens of li from Longquanyi to Chengdu. Zhu Gaoxu could easily judge that if Xue Lu had a clear goal, he would definitely arrive in Chengdu earlier than him.The composition of the two armies was not much different, mainly composed of the princes' guards and the garrison troops. Although the armies in different places were slightly different, the training and marching methods were very similar... Xue Lu had river shipping, while Zhu Gaoxu could only rely on vehicles and mules to transport baggage, which was a disadvantage in marching. Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu had to let Xue Lu go to Chengdu first, otherwise the continuous rapid march would inevitably drag down the combat effectiveness of the battle formation.Qu Neng's vanguard cavalry of 8,000 is already a large force as a mobile attack force, but it is impossible to accomp
On the eleventh day of the eleventh lunar month, Zhu Gaoxu led his troops from Longquanyi to the south and arrived at Taipingchang that afternoon.The vanguard led the soldiers to requisition many local houses, and gave five coins to each house to show the attitude of the Han army. After Zhu Gaoxu's main force arrived, they stationed on the spot.Today, the marching route of the Han army is along the western foot of the Longquan Mountains, heading south and west; Huayang County is also southwest of Longquanyi. So after a day of marching, the distance from the Han army to Huayang County has hardly changed, still only about 50 miles!There have been many frictions between the two armies and the cavalry scouts...When the Han army arrived at Longquanyi yesterday morning, Xue Lu's army was already in Huayang County. And until Zhu Gaoxu received the last report from the scouts today, there was no movement in the government army camp in Huayang County. It se
I slept very well last night. When Zhu Gaoxu got up, the sun had already risen.During breakfast, a scout reported: Before dawn, a large number of government troops had left Huayang County and marched straight south! Zhu Gaoxu did not react at all after hearing this, but just ordered all troops to continue resting in Taiping Field.Soon, Qu Neng and other generals came to the main hall of the tile-roofed house to pay their respects. Zhu Gaoxu asked the soldiers to collect the dishes and chopsticks on the square table.Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand to let the generals stop their formalities and said, "We have been traveling from Luzhou to Longquanyi for nearly half a month, and the soldiers are exhausted. Most of the soldiers took a break in Longquanyi the day before yesterday, but I am afraid they are not fully recovered yet, so we have to rest for a while. But we can't rest in Longquanyi, we can only come to Taipingchang, do you know why?"Qu Neng pondered
The sky above the Sichuan Provincial Administration Office always seemed to be covered with clouds; it was gray and gloomy, and it was very difficult to see the clear and transparent scenery of Yunnan, where the sky was the sky and the clouds were the clouds. However, at this moment, the sun at the zenith was still trying to shine through the clouds.Zhu Gaoxu and his entourage had already returned to Taiping Square on horseback. The atmosphere immediately became lively, with soldiers everywhere and groups of cavalry going in and out of the square. At this time, Zhu Gaoxu rarely spoke, and when he met military generals on the road who saluted, he mostly nodded or made a gesture in response.He looked thoughtful, observing the soldiers under his command, thinking so much that he didn't know where he was, but he must be near Taiping Field.As soon as he turned a corner, Zhu Gaoxu heard the sound of strings. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a big
On the morning of November 15 of the fifth lunar month in the fifth year of Yongle, the sky was still foggy and the round moon was still hanging over the plain in the west and south, as if indicating the direction of the government troops.There were torches everywhere near Taiping Square, like stars. Dogs barking from far and near mixed with the voices of people and horses, making it extremely noisy.Zhu Gaoxu was dressed in leather, chain mail, and lamellar armor, wrapped like a tall iron dumpling, with a shiny wide-brimmed iron helmet on his head. His shoulder scarf and cloak were made of white linen, and at first glance, he looked no different from the crowd of men surrounding him.The pine torches illuminated the surroundings, and black smoke filled the air in the firelight.At this time, a general came up quickly, clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, the government army camp has set out!"After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu looked back and