plumnovel Chapter 140 Personally Leading Suicide Squads in a Fierce Attack
Chapter 140 Personally Leading Suicide Squads in a Fierce Attack
"Where was Ping Bao'er when Sheng Yong and your father were fighting fiercely at Jiahe? Was he hiding in Zhengding and refusing to come out?"
The old emperor felt increasingly uneasy and angrily asked a question.
Ping An was the old emperor's adopted son, nicknamed Bao'er. He was "brave and skilled in battle, and could lift hundreds of pounds." No wonder the old emperor asked such a question.
"Wu Jie and Ping An learned of Sheng Yong's defeat during their march and had no choice but to retreat to Zhengding first," Zhu Gaoxi said casually.
He had met Ping An several times and had a good impression of him; he was not a sycophantic scoundrel.
In essence, the Jingnan Campaign was a power struggle between Zhu Di and his nephew Zhu Yunwen for the throne. Regardless of which side the civil and military officials supported, they all had their reasons for being loyal, and there is no need to be overly critical.
Ping An was loyal and brave, charging into battle with unparalleled ferocity, and was worthy of being trusted. Zhu Gaoxi was reluctant to frame him, even though he had twice nearly killed Zhu Di by assassination.
Zhu Gaoxi will do his utmost to prevent the Jingnan Campaign from happening again.
Ping An's biological father, Pingding, the Vice Commander of Jining Guard, died in battle during the attack on Yuan Dadu. Ping An succeeded his father and served as the Commander of Miyun and the Commander of Beiping.
He accompanied the Prince of Yan on several campaigns beyond the Great Wall and was very familiar with Zhu Di's military tactics.
However, Ping An did not submit to Zhu Di like Chen Heng and Li Yuan, but chose to resist until he was defeated and captured.
Perhaps it was out of loyalty to his adoptive father, after all, Emperor Jianwen was Zhu Yuanzhang's chosen successor.
The old emperor sighed heavily, clearly not accepting his eldest grandson's explanation. "Bao'er and your father have a good relationship."
It's unlikely that Ping An intentionally wanted to protect himself; the probability that he was jealous of Sheng Yong's military achievements is quite high, Zhu Gaoxi thought to himself.
However, the old emperor preferred to believe that Ping An's passive resistance to fighting was due to his lingering affection for his former friends.
During his retreat, Sheng Yong left more than 10,000 soldiers to garrison Shanjiaqiao.
At that time, the Yan army had just experienced a fierce battle and was exhausted. If Wu Jie and Ping An had taken the opportunity to join forces with the garrison at Shanjiaqiao to attack Zhu Di, they might have been able to win.
Wu Jie and Ping An refused to join forces with Sheng Yong, leading to a major defeat. If they remain inactive for an extended period, they must provide the court with a plausible reason; otherwise, they will surely face impeachment by the censors.
"Disruptions in mining operations lead to wasted effort and money" is a ready-made excuse.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Tuotuo, the Right Chancellor of Emperor Shun of Yuan, led an army of one million to suppress Zhang Shicheng. Just as he had Gaoyou completely besieged, the censor, under the instigation of treacherous officials, submitted a memorial to Emperor Shun of Yuan, saying: "Tuotuo has been leading an army for three months and has achieved nothing. He has spent the country's wealth for his own use and half of the court's officials to accompany him."
Emperor Yuan Shundi, easily swayed by slander, dismissed Toqto'a from his post on the battlefield and stripped him of his military power.
Therefore, Ping An was bound to have a fierce battle with Zhu Di, even if it was just to shut the censors up.
Zhu Di first sent troops to repel the remaining forces of Sheng Yong, and then moved his troops to Louziying to prepare for the upcoming major battle.
Everything was ready except for the final push, but Wu Jie and Ping An had yet to make a move.
If they hold their ground in Yingcheng, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain?
Fearing they wouldn't come, Zhu Di had no choice but to devise a plan to lure the enemy.
After Ping An and Wu Jie returned to Zhengding, many civilians who had fled from the chaos of war came from outside the city. They brought their families and talked about how the Yan army was short of food and had sent troops out to procure provisions.
Upon hearing this, Ping An and Wu Jie were immediately intrigued. The Yan army had relaxed its guard and quickly sent out scouts to investigate.
The scouts quickly reported that the Yan soldiers had indeed scattered to collect food.
By catching them off guard and launching a surprise attack, we can win a great victory, claim the credit, and finally feel proud, instead of always being overshadowed by the previously unknown Sheng Yong.
Once they're moved, they act immediately; both Ping An and Wu Jie are people with exceptional execution skills.
In fact, the fleeing civilians were actually Yan soldiers in disguise. Ping An and Wu Jie failed to see through them, clinging to wishful thinking and blindly confident that an opportunity had arisen and their chances of victory had increased. They excitedly led their troops out.
Ping An and Wu Jie set up camp on the north bank of the Hutuo River, about seventy li away from the Yan army.
Upon learning the news, Zhu Di immediately ordered a crossing of the river.
This day was the sixth day of the intercalary third month of the third year of the Jianwen reign, which, according to the geomancers, was a "day of great defeat and ten evils," and was extremely unlucky.
The generals tried to dissuade him, but Zhu Di was determined not to let talk of good or bad fortune cause him to miss the opportunity to win the battle. This was the way of military strategy.
Zhu Di analyzed the situation to his generals, saying, "Time waits for no one, and opportunities are easily lost. Now that the time is right, how can we delay? If we delay, the enemy will retreat to Zhending, where the city is strong and supplies are plentiful. We will be unable to attack, unable to respond to a fight, and unable to retreat. We will suffer the consequences. If we are bound by minor concerns, we will ultimately ruin our grand plan."
Compared to Zhu Yunwen's hasty reduction of the power of the princes shortly after ascending the throne, and his rigid, dogmatic approach, Zhu Di's move was far more astute.
Thinking he had absolute power, Zhu Gaoxi cursed inwardly for his arrogance and foolishness, having destroyed most of his base within a few months of taking office, unconsciously mixed with his past resentment towards the Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen.
The Yan army crossed the river overnight. In order to search for the enemy's whereabouts, Zhu Di personally acted as the vanguard, leading three thousand elite cavalrymen westward along the riverbank. After traveling about twenty miles, they encountered the enemy.
Ping An and Wu Jie then retreated to Gaocheng and set up camp.
At dusk on the ninth day of the third lunar month, after a brief exchange of blows, both sides sounded the retreat.
To prevent Ping An and Wu Jie from secretly retreating to Zhengding to hold their ground, Zhu Di led dozens of trusted cavalrymen to approach the enemy camp and camp overnight.
Zhu Di truly exhausted all his scheming to win this battle.
The war officially began on the tenth day of the third month.
Ping An arranged his troops in a square formation in the southwest direction, with a wooden tower several meters high placed in the center. He stood on the tower, commanding the battle from a high vantage point.
The wooden building quickly became the target of everyone's attention, and Yan soldiers swarmed in instantly, surrounding it completely.
Zhu Di dispatched elite troops to launch a fierce attack on the front of the wooden building, and the two sides clashed in a chaotic battle that was difficult to resolve.
In the midst of the fierce battle, Zhu Di led several hundred cavalrymen around to the rear of the enemy lines and rushed straight to the wooden tower.
The enemy ranks unleashed a barrage of arrows, which rained down upon them. The banners of the Prince of Yan's army were quickly riddled with arrows. Zhu Di led his elite troops through the hail of arrows, charging forward recklessly.
Zhu Di was as fierce as a tiger, unstoppable, and Ping An hurriedly jumped off the wooden building.
Without command, the enemy formation immediately descended into chaos.
Taking advantage of the Yan army's opportunistic and fierce attack, Ping An and Wu Jie suffered a complete defeat and fled to Zhen Ding.
Zhu Di pursued relentlessly, chasing them all the way to the walls of Zhengding City, where he ultimately achieved a great victory.
This battle was arduous. Zhu Di sent the general's flag back to Beiping and entrusted it to Zhu Gaochi for safekeeping, as a warning to future generations. Even Gu Cheng, who had experienced countless battles, couldn't help but shed tears when he saw the densely packed arrows on the flag.
Zhu Di personally braved arrows and stones, undaunted by death, and finally turned the tide of the battle, regaining the initiative.
When Emperor Jianwen received the battle report in the capital, in order to slow down the advance of the Yan army, he immediately issued an edict to dismiss Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng from their official posts again and demote them out of the capital. In reality, he ordered them to secretly recruit soldiers.
Zhu Di's reasons for "punishing the wicked and the first evildoers" became even more compelling, and he submitted another memorial, arguing vehemently and using strong language.
"The treacherous ministers fled, but their plan was carried out, and they dared not withdraw their troops."
Zhu Yunwen panicked and asked his chief strategist, Fang Xiaoru, for a solution.
Fang Xiaoru suggested sending envoys to the Yan army camp to persuade them, in order to delay the time and shake their morale; he also secretly ordered the Liaodong troops to move to attack Beiping, and Sheng Yong to harass Beiping. When the Prince of Yan returned to reinforce, a large number of troops were sent to follow closely behind and attack from both sides.
The plan sounds perfect, but it's difficult to execute.