Chapter 045 I'll kill him with an axe
Chen Biao only knew about the battle between Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang, and did not know the specific details of this period of history, so he did not know that although the world has changed a lot, reality is still very close to what is written in history books.
Zhang Shicheng pretended to accept Chen Youliang's invitation to join the army, but he kept his troops inactive, watching the tigers fight from the mountain.
Kang Maocai pretended to write a letter to Chen Youliang to discuss internal and external cooperation, but in fact he was luring Chen Youliang into an encirclement.
Chen Youliang believed it.
He was so proud of himself that he thought he had divine help and that whatever he wanted would come true. He confidently sailed his large ship towards the "Jiangdong Wooden Bridge" outside Yingtian City that Kang Maocai had mentioned. However, the wooden bridge turned out to be a stone bridge, blocking his fleet.
Only then did Chen Youliang realize something was wrong.
The messengers sent by Chen Youliang to communicate with Kang Maocai were trembling with fear.
When he returned from Yingtian, he stepped on it on purpose and found that it was clearly a wooden bridge!
If this was still a wooden bridge, even if Chen Youliang failed to find Kang Maocai to pick him up, he could quickly burn the wooden bridge with fire and the boat could continue to sail to Yingtian.
Now that the Jiangdong wooden bridge has become the brand new Jiangdong stone bridge, Chen Youliang can only return with a gloomy face and take a detour.
This detour led them straight into Zhu Yuanzhang's encirclement.
To make matters worse, Zhu Yuanzhang had calculated the time of high and low tides , and also calculated the time for Chen Youliang to return. When Chen Youliang arrived at the ambush site, the tide happened to be low.
Chen Youliang's luxurious ships were all stranded. Zhu Yuanzhang, who had no money or craftsmen to build large ships, proudly shuttled back and forth with his small boat, forcing Chen Youliang to flee in panic.
Unfortunately, Chen Youliang was not good at fighting, but he had first-class escape skills. Zhu Yuanzhang failed to catch Chen Youliang's escaping boat and let the tiger go back to the mountain. He was so angry that he beat his chest and stamped his feet.
Tang He said with a smile: "Boss, stop stamping your feet! There are hundreds of large ships!"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled when he saw the intact large ships stranded on the shore.
In Pingjiang (Suzhou) City, Zhang Shicheng, who was waiting for news from the front line, learned that Chen Youliang was attacking Zhu Yuanzhang, and at the same time, he also received news of Chen Youliang's disastrous defeat.
Chen Youliang was defeated as soon as he arrived at the outskirts of Yingtian City, in less than a day.
Zhang Shicheng hadn't even put on his armor yet, and the generals were even bargaining with Zhang Shicheng about what rewards they would get for this expedition, but Chen Youliang was defeated?
The spy replied, "Yes, Chen Youliang was ambushed, and with the tide low, he was instantly defeated. Zhu Yuanzhang has personally led his army in pursuit of Chen Youliang."
Zhang Shicheng was stunned. "Is Chen Youliang stupid? He and Zhu Yuanzhang have such a huge disparity in military strength, and Zhu Yuanzhang doesn't even have a large ship. How can he drive his ship aground on the shallows and seek his own death?!"
Zhang Shicheng jumped up excitedly, put his hands behind his back, hunched over, and kept walking in circles on the spot.
"One day? Just one day? What happened to the evenly matched match?"
"Luckily I didn't go!"
"No, I'm going there only after I get the news that Chen Youliang is attacking Yingtian City! By the time I got the news, Chen Youliang had already been defeated!"
"What kind of shit luck does Zhu Yuanzhang have? He can win like this?!"
Zhang Shixin said quietly, "They also say that Chen Youliang is a tyrant and that even a bear is more powerful than him."
Zhang Shixin was very dissatisfied. He wanted to attack eastern Zhejiang to grab the beautiful women, but the scholars insisted that Chen Youliang was the real enemy and that they should not help Chen Youliang to defeat Zhu Yuanzhang.
Look, this is called a strong enemy?!
Zhang Shicheng stopped and glared at Zhang Shixin.
Zhang Shixin glared back, "Brother, while Zhu Yuanzhang is chasing Chen Youliang and beating him up, how about we kick Zhu Yuanzhang's ass too? We want revenge on Shi De!"
Zhang Shicheng exposed his brother: "You told me that there were money and women in Zhejiang and asked me to go fight. I believed your reasoning. But when you mentioned revenge for Shi De, do you believe it yourself? Don't mention revenge, otherwise I will have no right to surrender to the Yuan Dynasty."
Zhang Shicheng's younger brother Zhang Shide was once captured by Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to exchange Zhang Shide for 500,000 dan of grain, but Zhang Shicheng ignored Zhu Yuanzhang.
Later it was said that Zhang Shide secretly wrote a letter to Zhang Shicheng, asking Zhang Shicheng to surrender to the Yuan Dynasty, and then he died of starvation.
This is what Zhang Shicheng said.
Let's not talk about how Zhang Shide, an important prisoner imprisoned by Zhu Yuanzhang, secretly sent the letter out. Even if this is true, this grudge cannot be held against Zhu Yuanzhang.
Speaking of revenge, in the Battle of Gaoyou, the Yuan army almost slaughtered all the brothers who followed Zhang Shicheng in the uprising and the salt workers who supported Zhang Shicheng. Several of Zhang Shicheng's relatives also died. Didn't he still surrender to the Yuan Dynasty and supply food to the Yuan Dynasty?
That's how troubled times are: if you hit me, I'll hit you. If Zhang Shicheng wanted to hold a grudge, he would have attacked the then-weak Zhu Yuanzhang at all costs.
Zhang Shicheng still occasionally wanted to avenge his brother, but life in Hangzhou and Pingjiang was so comfortable that he had put on a bit of weight recently, and his old armor was no longer suitable for him.
Oh, let’s wait for next time.
Zhang Shixin: "Okay, brother, what you said is indeed my real reason. Want to fight?"
Zhang Shicheng rolled his eyes at his brother and said, "Okay, fight. I'll give you soldiers, go fight."
Zhang Shixin immediately said awkwardly, "Forget it then."
Zhang Shicheng cursed, "Is this all you can do?!"
After scolding his brother, Zhang Shicheng changed into a scholar's long gown, and applied powder beautifully like those talented and romantic men. Then he summoned all the wise men to ask for advice.
Chen Youliang attacked Yingtian with great momentum, but was defeated in just one day. When Zhang Shicheng's generals heard the news, they looked at each other in panic.
Shi Er, Chen Ji and other serious staff members sighed deeply and tried hard to control their gloomy expressions.
Man proposes, God disposes. Zhu Yuanzhang's victory was so unnatural, could it be God's will?
Shi Er took a deep breath and interrupted Zhang Shicheng, who was still muttering, "Alas, there's nothing I can do. Chen Youliang was defeated so quickly, I don't know what to do anymore." He said, "My lord! Please send spies immediately to find out the details of the battle between Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang!"
Zhang Shicheng, who was playing badly, was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly: "Ah, good, good."
Chen Ji sat in the chair without saying a word, like an old monk in meditation.
…
The siege of Yingtian City was lifted, and the city returned to its former prosperity, but the atmosphere in the Chen family was still very depressing.
Zhu Yuanzhang launched an attack with his entire army, and Chen Biao's father and mother went with the army and never returned.
Chen Guorui was still mysterious, and no one knew which army he had joined as a shadow general; Chen Biao's mother should have joined Madam Xiuying's female logistics team, but no one knew whether she was sewing clothes or transporting food.
Chen Biao hoped his mother would stay sewing clothes instead of transporting grain, as transporting grain was too hard and his mother's health might not be able to bear it.
All the civil and military officials in Yingtian City were mobilized. When there's no tiger in the mountains, the monkey becomes king. Although the city was under the command of generals, the second-generation generals held such high positions that the generals were hesitant to intervene.
As a result, many public security incidents occurred in Yingtian City, and some people even wanted to act like hooligans at the Chen Family Women's Workshop.
Chen Biao was already in a bad mood, and he was furious when he heard about this.
He asked angrily, "Who is the general guarding Yingtian? Does my father know him?!"
Li Zhen said, "I know him. The general guarding Yingtian is called Hua Yun. Although he's not your father's childhood friend, we're both from Haozhou. I'll have him come to my house to look for you."
Chen Biao shook his head: "He is the elder, I will go to pay him a visit."
Li Zhen thought, if you go to visit him, he will probably be scared to death.
But Li Zhen really wanted to see the scene of the brave Black General being frightened and his face turning pale, so he happily took Chen Biao directly to the Marshal's Mansion.
After Hua Yun defected to Zhu Yuanzhang with a sword in 1353, he was trusted by Zhu Yuanzhang for his loyalty and bravery. He served as the leader of Zhu Yuanzhang's personal guards and always stayed by his side.
In the 17th year of Zhizheng (1357), Zhu Yuanzhang established the Xingshumiyuan in Taiping Prefecture, and Hua Yun left Zhu Yuanzhang to guard Taiping Prefecture for him. After that, his relatives all settled in Taiping Prefecture, and the house in Yingtian was deserted.
Chen Youliang attacked Taiping Prefecture. Although Zhu Yuanzhang had been prepared, Hua Yun was still injured while breaking out. His arm was hanging around his neck, and it was unknown whether it would heal.
Zhu Yuanzhang was worried that others would not take good care of Hua Yun, so he let Hua Yun live in the Marshal's Mansion and be in charge of Yingtian Prefecture.
Hua Yun's adopted son, Hua Wenxun, who was also Zhu Yuanzhang's adopted son, was also injured. Although he did not break any arms or legs, he lost too much blood and is still lying down.
Both father and son lived in the Marshal's Mansion, and helped Zhu Yuanzhang manage the affairs of Yingtian Prefecture with sad faces.
Hua Yun, with a dark face, said dejectedly, "Why didn't the Marshal leave a scholar for me? Even Xu Yuan and Wang Ding ran off with the Marshal!"
Xu Yuan, the prefect of Taiping, Wang Ding, the judge of the Taiping Court, and Hua Yun, all officials from the same city, retreated safely together. Although the two scholars also fought and broke through the enemy, they did not lead the charge bare-chested like Hua Yun and Hua Wenxun, so they did not suffer serious injuries.
As soon as they heard that Chen Youliang was going to attack Yingtian, they immediately followed the Marshal without any sense of camaraderie.
Hua Wenxun said weakly: "Godfather, I'm still recovering from my injuries, please don't squeeze me, can you see for yourself?"
Hua Yun cursed, "Who isn't injured? You're lying down anyway, come and help me with the paperwork! Ouch, my head hurts. Why did my mother teach me to read when I was a child? If I couldn't read, the Marshal wouldn't have been so reluctant to leave me a scholar."
Hua Wensun thought to himself, do you dare to say this in front of my godmother’s tablet?
Hua Yun was cursing when his former subordinate, Zhu Yuanzhang's personal guard, came rushing in with a report: "General! Someone from the Chen family is here to complain! They say someone is destroying the Chen family's place!"
Hua Yun was so confused reading the documents: "Chen family? Which Chen family? Why did they come directly to the Marshal's Mansion without submitting any documents? Chen De's family? Or Chen Heng's family? Can't they fight back on their own? Leave me alone."
The Chen De and Chen Heng mentioned by Hua Yun were both poor brothers from Haozhou who defected to Zhu Yuanzhang in the 13th year of Zhizheng.
The personal soldier glanced at Hua Wenxun, who was lying on the hospital bed, pretending to be on his last legs to avoid the paperwork, and didn't dare to speak directly.
He said, "It's the Chen family, Chen Guorui's family."
Hua Yun had been away from Yingtian for several years, and when his personal soldiers mentioned "Chen Guorui", he was still in shock.
Hua Wenxun reacted first and shouted angrily, "My brother Wen Zheng's family? Who dares to bully them? Take my silver spear... Ouch!"
Hua Yun threw away the documents and held down Hua Wenxun, who was trying to get up from the bed, with one hand: "Wait, what Wen Zheng? What Chen Guorui..."
Seeing that General Hua was completely confused, the guards kept reminding him, "It's your fellow villager, Chen Guorui! Chen Jiabiao is here! Chen Guorui's eldest son, Chen Biao, has come to the Marshal's Mansion to complain to you that someone is bullying their Chen family!"
Hua Wenxun struggled to get up again: "Biao'er?! Wenzheng and Wenzhong's well-behaved and smart younger brother?! Whoever dares to bully him will take my silver spear... Ouch!"
Hua Yun slammed Hua Wenxun's head back, then jumped up and shouted angrily, "Bring me my axe! Whoever bullies Biao'er, I'll chop him to death with one axe!"
