Before we knew it, it was already the twelfth month of the sixth year of Yongle (the first year of Hongxi) and the second year of Zhu Gaoxu's "campaign to punish criminals" was also coming to an end.
Zhu Gaoxu remembered that he spent last winter in the Sichuan Provincial Administration, but this winter he was in Huguang.
Huguang Province in the south is still cold in winter, and the wind is even stronger than in Sichuan. The main door of the central hall in the courtyard of the Central Army Headquarters was closed, but from time to time a gust of cold wind blew in through the crack of the door, making people shiver.
At this time, Qu Neng's troops, as well as the troops under Sheng Yongping's previous command, and the main forces of the King of Han's army had gradually approached Hengzhou City.
Because Zhang Fu did not reply for a long time, Zhu Gaoxu's letter of surrender fell on deaf ears; so in the central army hall, Zhu Gaoxu and several generals h
Yuan Gong argued with several ministers in the Imperial Academy all afternoon, but nothing was accomplished.When he walked out of the door, a light white light suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, which brought him back to his senses from his boring thoughts. Yuan Gong took a closer look and saw that there were small snowflakes floating on the ground.He was slightly surprised. When he walked into the Hanlin Academy, it was obviously not snowing. So he couldn't help but look up at the sky, and saw that deep in the scattered snowflakes, the sky was gray and gloomy. The snowflakes did not surprise him, but the clouds matched his state of mind.Yuan Gong raised his head for a long time, then turned to look at the Chengtian Gate Tower. The gorgeous pavilions and palace walls were covered in snowflakes, and those buildings seemed to be shrouded in some resentment.The huge palace is very grand. But when Yuan Gong thought about the emperor living inside
Zhang Fu decided to surrender!When Zhu Gaoxu heard the news, he suddenly stood up from his chair, raised his fist in the air, and said excitedly, "Good!" His face with thick eyebrows and big eyes was flushed red with excitement, as if he had drunk alcohol.At this point in the "Battle of Punishing Crimes", the chances of the Han army winning were already very high. However, if the army were to march along the southern route (Nanchang, Hangzhou, and the capital), it would indeed be difficult to encounter strong resistance along the way, but it would take at least half a year! This was also a very unfavorable choice.As Sheng Yong said, the longer the night, the more dreams there are! As time goes by, the great shocking effect of the Huguang Campaign and the earth-shattering situation may gradually ease; the probability of unexpected things happening in the general situation will also increase.Therefore, advancing to the south is definitely not the bes
On the 13th of the twelfth lunar month, the daytime in Huguang was cloudy, and there was a light rain last night. The weather at this time was extremely cold, with a northwest wind blowing all the time.A long procession of people and horses occupied a post road in Baoqing Prefecture, including carriages, props, flags, cards and fans, as well as a large number of infantry and cavalry. The people and horses were so numerous that it seemed to occupy the entire road.This team was the officials, palace ladies, and family members of the Han Palace, as well as many guards. They had passed through Yiyang County a few days ago and were now in the territory of Baoqing Prefecture.The weather was cold, and apart from the large group of people from the Han Palace, there were only a few pedestrians on this road...At this time, far behind the large group of people, there was a pedestrian on the road. She was a middle-aged woman, with a piece of green cloth wrappe
On the afternoon of the 13th day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Fu received a report at the central military headquarters of the official army in Changsha City."Marshal, there is a soldier outside the headquarters. He calls himself Li Yong and says he is the person you sent out to spy on military intelligence." A military general said with a fist salute.The general looked calm, because this was a very ordinary matter. But when Zhang Fu heard this name, his heart immediately tightened!Not long ago, Zhang Fu, in view of the extremely unfavorable situation in the court and the war, finally made up his mind to write a letter of surrender. He mentioned a detail in the letter: if the King of Han wanted to send someone to contact him, he would ask the messenger to call himself Li Yong.This name has a bit of history. To this day, Zhang Fu still believes that the two soldiers around He Fu were spies of the Han Wang Army! Zhang Fu also remembered the name
This is an ordinary day; there are many solar terms in the twelfth lunar month, but the thirteenth day of the twelfth lunar month is not a festival. It is such an ordinary day, but it seems destined to be extraordinary.The seat of the Huguang Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office was Wuchang Prefecture. Jin Zhong, the Minister of War and the Huguang Transport Commissioner, was watching the killing outside the city!Today, the sky in Wuchang Prefecture was gloomy and rainy earlier; now the cold wind blew the dead leaves and debris on the ground all over the sky. This weather was exactly what this bleak and desolate scene should be.A row of prisoners were tied up behind their backs on the parade ground. Among them were the rebel spies who had been caught one after another, the officers and soldiers who had violated military law, and the officials and civilians who had violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty. They were all sentenced to death! After th
The seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month.It snowed again in the capital. This time the snow was a little heavier than the one at the beginning of the month. A thin layer of snow gradually accumulated on the glazed tiles and corners of the palace walls. For a moment, the palace seemed to be covered by a layer of white gauze.Emperor Zhu Gaochi still did not attend court, nor did he summon his ministers to discuss matters; however, he had not indulged in lust for nearly half a month.It wasn't that he suddenly came to his senses, but he was just getting bored after playing for so long. Especially after he finished playing once a day, his interest in the beauties in the palace dwindled.This was not the first time he indulged himself; he had done it not long after Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne. Although the country was in turmoil at that time, he had been pent up for too long as the crown prince, and he was very willful when he suddenly ascended t
Early morning of the 21st day of the twelfth lunar month.The sky above Wuchang City was pitch black! The clouds were thick, and there was no moonlight or stars. If it weren't for the torches under the city wall that illuminated the sky, it would be pitch dark on the ground.As soon as the troops from the capital arrived at the city gate, a horse fell to the ground, foaming from its mouth and twitching. The man who fell to the ground squatted down to check on his poor mount.A warrior in the firelight said, "It's hopeless! The horse can't fall down. Once it falls down, it will never stand up again!"Then someone shouted to the top of the tower, "Imperial edict! An urgent order from the Ministry of War, eight hundred miles away! Quickly lower the hanging basket down."After a while, someone on the tower responded, "I will put a basket down first, and you can send someone up with the military order to check it."After the hanging basket was l
On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhu Gaoxu learned from the scout's report that the government troops had reached the north of Hengzhou by land and sea, less than a hundred miles away from the "ferry" of the King of Han's army!This matter is very important! Once successful, it will not only completely destroy the confidence of the government troops, but also completely lay the foundation for the overall victory of the "Anti-criminal Army".Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu originally planned to personally bring the Han Wang flag and the guard army to the Dongzhou Island ferry in the south this morning, and make a full scene of forcing a crossing of the Xiangjiang River to cooperate with Zhang Fu as much as possible.However, he changed his mind today when a large group of people from the Han Palace arrived in Hengzhou. He planned to meet with the officials and family members of the Han Palace before leading the army to set out... Although Zhu Gaoxu was very c