plumnovel Chapter 134 Mystery
Chapter 134 Mystery
The old emperor nodded gently, moved, signaling him to continue.
The battle between the two sides in Beiping during the Jingnan Rebellion was fierce and brutal. After the battle, Zhu Di ordered that a separate piece of land be set aside in the mountains north of Zhengcunba, and that all the dead, regardless of whether they were Yan soldiers or soldiers of the court, be buried there. He also erected a stone tablet in his own name.
Zhu Gaoxi originally wanted to avoid this overly heavy topic, but when he glanced up and saw the old emperor's lips trembling slightly and his face full of sorrow, he quickly stopped himself.
The best course of action now is to slow down the pace of speech, reduce the amount of information conveyed, and minimize the impact on the old emperor's mind and body.
Zhu Di successfully kidnapped Zhu Quan and left Daning City. Then, Chen Heng, who was guarding Songting Pass, led his troops in Daning to surrender. Liu Zhen fled alone in the chaos. Zhu Di's forces suddenly increased to more than 300,000, enough to compete with Li Jinglong's 500,000-strong army.
At this time, Beiping City was completely surrounded by Li Jinglong's troops, and the situation was extremely critical.
Zhu Di led his troops day and night into the pass at breakneck speed, posing as if to launch a decisive attack, which forced Li Jinglong to divide his forces.
However, after the Yan army entered the pass, Zhu Di ordered them to slow down.
Li Jinglong was on high alert, remaining vigilant day and night, ready for a decisive battle at any moment, and dared not relax for a moment. However, after waiting for twenty days, he still did not see any sign of the Yan soldiers.
"In war, courage is paramount. One must strike with full force at the first drumbeat, for the second will be weaker, and the third will be exhausted."
Li Jinglong's troops were mostly soldiers from the south, who could not withstand the severe cold of the north. After more than twenty days of continuous tension, they were exhausted and their fighting strength was greatly reduced. Their original advantage of "waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out" was completely lost.
The Yan soldiers moved slowly, taking breaks along the way to conserve their energy and avoid overexertion.
Zhu Di used flexible strategies to turn the tide and gradually tip the scales of victory in his favor.
"When they are exhausted and we are at our peak, we can defeat them."
The two sides engaged in fierce fighting at Zhengcunba, with drums and gongs beating and shouts of battle deafening.
Arrows rained down from the sky, horses hooves thundered, and blood splattered everywhere. It wasn't until noon that both sides finally withdrew from the battlefield.
The Yan soldiers were as fierce and ruthless as demons, leaving corpses strewn across the battlefield, severed heads and limbs everywhere. Li Jinglong, a member of the royal family who had grown up in luxury, had never experienced such a bloody battle.
He was afraid, he backed down. He didn't know what the outcome would be tomorrow, whether he could go back alive, or how he would face everything afterward.
Zhu Di was there to fight for his life, for only in this way could he survive, while Li Jinglong was focused on saving his own life.
Li Jinglong fled overnight, breaking camp and leaving. In his haste, he didn't even have time to notify the soldiers besieging the nine gates of Beiping.
A large number of warhorses, weapons, supplies, food and other materials were abandoned. Li Jinglong traveled light and fled to Dezhou in one go.
In this battle, Li Jinglong lost more than 100,000 soldiers.
Emperor Jianwen did not pursue the matter of his loss of troops and generals, and still trusted him completely.
Zhu Gaoxi only focused on Li Jinglong's cowardice and escape, glossing over all other information.
But the old emperor was a veteran of countless battles, and there were many things that Zhu Gaoxi could guess with great accuracy, even if he didn't say them.
With over 800,000 troops clashing together, casualties were inevitable.
These troops, which the old emperor had always treasured, had now suffered heavy losses. How could he not feel pain in his heart?
In the fifth year of the Hongwu reign, Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, and Fu Youde led three armies on a northern expedition. The expedition was unsuccessful, resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of men. The old emperor was heartbroken and often blamed himself, regretting his gullibility and lack of strategy. He wrote letters to warn the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Yan to avoid making the same mistake.
Zhu Gaoxi silently drank his milk, waiting for the old emperor to slowly digest and accept the tragic war that had actually happened in history.
After an unknown amount of time, the old emperor wearily raised his hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Xi'er, go back first. We'll talk again tomorrow."
Zhu Gaoxi acknowledged the order and respectfully withdrew.
Stepping outside the hall into the gentle, bright sunlight, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The truth was too cruel. The old emperor was getting on in years and his ability to bear it was limited. Every time the Jingnan Campaign was mentioned, Zhu Gaoxi was trembling with fear, as if walking on thin ice.
Perhaps, historically, Zhu Yuanzhang never had time to carefully consider whether choosing Zhu Yunwen was the right or wrong decision.
Now that he has a second chance, how will the old emperor make his decision?
Zhu Gaoxi was so sleepy that he kept yawning and had no energy to think about these things. At this moment, all he wanted to do was run back to the vegetable garden, lie down and sleep until the world was dark.
"Close your eyes, and the world becomes irrelevant to me."
Zhu Gaoxi slept until the morning of the next day before finally waking up. He was starving, so he dressed and drank a bowl of eight-treasure porridge. When he saw Yishiha passing by the window, he asked Yunfei to call him into the room.
"No news these past few days?" Zhu Gaoxi asked while eating.
Yi Shiha knew that the young prince was referring to the Eastern Palace, and shook his head to indicate that there was no new information about Xue Zhu.
"I've heard that the Crown Prince's wife has recently developed a fondness for jealousy," Yishiha said after a moment's hesitation.
Sour for a boy, spicy for a girl—could it be that the Crown Prince's wife is carrying a boy?
It's not exactly news that pregnant women experience nausea, discomfort, and loss of appetite, and eating something sour can help alleviate these symptoms.
Zhu Gaoxi didn't care about these things, treating them as mere gossip, and continued to bury his head in his porridge.
"A cook from the Imperial Kitchen put dried hawthorn in the Crown Princess's food. He was punished by the Crown Princess and was caned and sent out of the palace," Yi Shiha added in a low voice.
"Are hawthorns harmful to pregnant women?" Zhu Gaoxi asked, puzzled, as images of crisp, sweet and sour candied hawthorns flashed through his mind.
"The Crown Princess said it would cause a miscarriage," Yi Shiha said in a very low voice.
Zhu Gaoxi still couldn't detect anything unusual. Although Lady Lü's concern for her grandson's safety was a bit excessive, it was understandable, and the old emperor wouldn't punish her for such minor transgressions.
"When the Crown Princess Yiwen was more than seven months pregnant, she gave birth to Prince Guangze," Yishiha quickly glanced outside and whispered to Zhu Gaoxi.
What?!
Zhu Yunwen was a premature baby?!
Zhu Gaoxi was almost speechless with astonishment.
So, it seems that Lady Lü is indeed suspected of having ulterior motives.
"Where is the Crown Prince?"
This news was so shocking that Zhu Gaoxi felt somewhat agitated and wanted to discuss it with Youdun.
His initial intention in investigating Lady Lü was simply to provoke Zhu Yunwen and force him to make a mistake, regardless of whether Lady Lü actually had any problems.
When Chang Lin passed away, Zhu Biao was in his prime, healthy, and promising. Even if Lu Shi had the intention to harm him, she might not have been so bold.
"I went to the Qianqing Palace," Yishiha replied respectfully.
Zhu Gaoxi nodded slightly, took the wontons handed to him by Yunfei, and began to eat them eagerly. He then silently withdrew.
After eating, washing up, and dressing neatly, Zhu Gaoxi sat in the sun, closed his eyes, and pondered the matter of Lady Lü, ready to be summoned by the old emperor at any time.
Lady Lü was intelligent and learned, otherwise she would not have been chosen as the Crown Prince's second wife, second only to Chang Lin. The old emperor intended to choose a virtuous and literate wife for Zhu Biao.
Chang Lin is kind-hearted and straightforward, but she is not very good at studying.
Just as Zhu Gaoxi was deep in thought, he suddenly saw You Dun return and quickly called him to a stop. The two then went into a secret room to discuss the matter.
Someone with expertise in medicine might be able to offer some professional advice.
"Eating a small amount is beneficial and harmless, unless someone intends to harm others and secretly adds it to their daily diet," You Dun pondered and analyzed. "King Guangze was born in the eleventh year of Hongwu's reign. At that time, the Kaiping King's family was enjoying great favor. Duke Changmao of Zheng, due to his father's merits, ranked second only to Duke Li Shanchang of Han and Duke Xu Da of Wei among the six dukes. How could the Lü family dare to harm anyone?!"