Zhu Yuanzhang did not deliberately choose the time when the Yuan Dynasty emperor and the crown prince were fighting among themselves to send troops.
According to the original history, it was not until the 24th year of Zhizheng that Zhu Yuanzhang destroyed Chen Han.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang were locked in a turmoil, while southern warlords like Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youding were forced to remain in a corner. The Han and Song factions, who had advocated a northern expedition, had already been eliminated by Zhang Shicheng. The Yuan Dynasty, unwilling to advance southward, allowed the southern warlords to fight among themselves, while the northern court gradually stabilized.
After the people in the court had nothing to do, the emperor and the prince started fighting again.
The two warlords who rose to prominence in the suppression of the Red Turban Army, Kuyuk Timur and Bolo Timur, also fought against each other endlessly, trying to seize the position second only to the emperor.
In the 24th year of the reign of Emperor Zhizheng, the crown prince and Kuyuk Timur attacked Bola Temür and were defeated in July. Bola Temür led his army into the capital and became the right prime minister.
In the 25th year of Zhizheng, the crown prince and Kuyuk Timur attacked Bolo Timur again. Also in July, Bolo Timur was assassinated by people sent by the emperor, and the crown prince went to Beijing.
However, Kuyuk Timur originally thought that he had the merit of following the emperor, so he conspired with the queen to support the crown prince who wanted to conquer the south as emperor and force the foolish emperor to abdicate.
Crown Prince Ayushiridara had rebelled against his father for so long, yet now he was expected to be a filial son. He ordered Kuyuk Timur to disband his troops and return home to serve his father. Despite having won a battle, his power and status were lower than before, and his father even beat both mother and son.
Kuyuk Timur and the crown prince naturally turned against each other at this time. If the Yuan Dynasty had not become the Northern Yuan Dynasty, both of them would have tried to retake the Central Plains. They would not have become model rulers and ministers in their later years, and become a major threat to the Ming Dynasty.
In this time and space, the defense of Hongdu turned into a great victory of Hongdu, and Zhu Yuanzhang easily defeated Chen Han in the 23rd year of Zhizheng.
In the 24th year of Zhizheng, Zhu Yuanzhang advanced southward to Fujian and Guangdong, achieving successive victories. He also signed a peace treaty with Zhang Shicheng, agreeing to jointly target the Yuan Dynasty.
When Xu Da led his army southward to Fujian and Guangdong, Zhu Yuanzhang's subordinates such as Hu Dahai continued to expand westward, threatening Gansu, Shanxi and other areas occupied by the Yuan army.
Kuyuk Timur and Bolo Timur had no time to fight among themselves as they were trying to resist the attack of the Ming army.
It was not until the first month of the year when Zhu Yuanzhang asked for a comprehensive retreat of the front line and preparation for the Northern Expedition that Chang Yuchun was making great progress in Sichuan and Shu, while Mingxia was losing ground. Kuyuk Timur and Crown Prince Ayushiridara thought that Zhu Yuanzhang was going to enter Sichuan, so they took advantage of this opportunity to attack Bola Timur and try to return to the capital.
Information transmission in this era is very backward.
Unlike modern society where information warfare can be transmitted in real time, in this era, it takes at least ten days, and at most months or even years for the news of a military action to reach another place.
The transmission of information cannot even be determined solely by the distance of the journey.
If one faction decided on a surprise attack, in times of chaos, no one would notice it. Even if ordinary people noticed, they would be fleeing everywhere, making it impossible for the news to spread.
If no one goes out to send a message for help when a city is attacked, no one will know that it has been attacked even if it holds out for a year or two.
If the isolated city is far away from the main power, they may hold on for decades without the court knowing.
This was the case with Anxi in the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, ancient wars were often tragic and heroic. This kind of tragic heroism of a lone soldier fighting is hard for modern people to imagine.
Since it is impossible to use real-time information to decide actions, there is a profession called "strategist".
The role of a counselor is to "calculate" and "predict".
The so-called "temple calculation" is when a group of high-ranking civil and military officials predict the military action and make military arrangements in advance when deciding to send troops. In fact, it can be regarded as a large-scale "pre-judgment".
In subsequent military deployments, generals and advisers were almost all "blind guessing", which was simply a large-scale psychological and behavioral logic analysis.
Therefore, sometimes the outcome of a war is already decided when it begins.
For example, now Zhu Yuanzhang decided to launch a northern expedition, but Kuyuk Timur and the crown prince speculated that Zhu Yuanzhang was going to enter Sichuan and took this opportunity to provoke a decisive battle with Bola Timur. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang had already secured the victory of the northern expedition in advance.
Whether you say it was "time and fate" or that Kuyuk Timur and the Yuan prince were slightly inferior, the result was already determined.
What it cannot determine is the process leading to this result, such as the number of casualties.
The city gate that Chen Biao deliberately left for Yuan Dadu was indeed opened. All the defenders of Yuan Dadu escorted the emperor out of the city gate and rushed towards Juyongguan.
Then it depends on whether Deng Yu and Zhao Desheng can stop the fleeing Yuan Dynasty emperor.
After the Yuan Dynasty emperor fled, the ministers who were left behind immediately opened the city gates and surrendered.
Under the protection of his brothers, Chen Biao, as the marshal replacing Xu Da, entered the Yuan capital holding the "Ming" flag and accepted the surrender of the city from the abandoned ministers of the Yuan Dynasty.
This time, Chen Biao was riding the same tall horse as his brothers. He was wearing silver armor, a new short musket on his waist, a longbow with very ordinary pulling force hanging on the side of the horse, and a silver spear with a red tassel on his back. He looked like a young general in terms of equipment, but his height and face were too young and delicate, making him look out of place.
His horse's hooves trampled over the piles of broken corpses at the city gate. His hooves were stained with blood as he walked into the gate of Dadu, leaving bloody hoof prints with every step. He passed through the narrow, maze-like city wall and stepped onto the broad and straight official road of Yuan Dadu.
At this time, the horse's hooves would no longer leave bloody footprints, but the smell of blood still rushed straight to Chen Biao's head, making his eyes hurt a little.
He rubbed his eyes and looked around at the scene of Beidadu, comparing it with the capital of later generations in his memory.
I can't find a familiar place.
Seeing flames and smoke rising from the city from time to time, Chen Biao asked, "Is there anyone in the army disobeying orders?"
Chen Ying shook his head: "No. We had strict orders before entering the city."
Li Wenzhong speculated: "Perhaps some ministers abandoned by the treacherous Yuan emperor died for their country. "
Zhu Wenzheng sneered, "They're all abandoned and still want to die for their country. How foolish! They might as well just pack up and run after the treacherous Yuan Emperor and see if that bastard Emperor will take them with him."
Chen Biao stopped them and said, "Okay, send people to put out the fire and don't let it spread to other places."
Zhu Wenzhen cursed and took the order to put out the fire.
Chen Biao originally just casually asked a few centurions to take people to put out the fire, but when Zhu Wenzhen thought about the possible disputes with the officials of Xiancheng later, he would rather go to command the firefighting than be forced to listen to those annoying nonsense.
Zhu Wenzheng was the only adopted son of King Ming who had been granted the surname of the king. To the outside world, he was no different from King Ming's biological son. Zhu Wenzheng led the soldiers to put out the fire and comfort the people, which just happened to increase King Ming's reputation.
Chen Biao agreed to let Zhu Wenzhen go.
Li Wenzhong and Chen Ying, standing guard on Chen Biao's left and right, joked, "It's good that he left, otherwise it would be difficult for us to arrange our seats."
Chen Biao was speechless: "Why don't you just not protect me in the middle?"
Li Wenzhong said, "Marshal Xu ordered you to temporarily take over the command. You were also the first to contribute to the capture of Yuan Dadu. If you don't take the middle position, who will? Should we let Zhu Wenzheng go?"
Chen Ying laughed and said, "If he dares to walk in the middle, we will dare to drive him off his horse and make him walk on two legs."
The other generals burst into laughter when they heard this. Some of the old subordinates who were familiar with Zhu Wenzhen even started to make a fuss, asking General Li and General Chen to try to dethrone General Zhu, and they absolutely supported it.
Seeing that everyone around him had happy expressions on their faces, Chen Biao felt it was not appropriate to put on a sad face anymore.
As for the Ming army, they were of course happy, even ecstatic.
The military advisor really did what he said, and led tens of thousands of vanguard troops to capture the Yuan capital without losing a single soldier (Chen Biao: I didn’t say that).
They were not afraid of death, but no one wanted to die. Yuan Dadu was so strong, and they were able to capture Yuan Dadu without losing a single person. How could they not be ecstatic?
Chen Biao knew rationally that he should be happy, but when he saw the miserable deaths of the fleeing soldiers at the gate of Yuandu, he just couldn't feel happy.
In order not to disturb the fun of the people around him, Chen Biao put on a stern face and pretended to be "dignified" to cover up the fact that he couldn't laugh.
Li Wenzhong and Chen Ying exchanged worried glances and talked about happy things in an attempt to divert Chen Biao's attention, but to little avail.
They could only pretend not to notice so as not to put more pressure on Chen Biao.
The two brothers had long discovered that in Chen Biao's eyes, anyone who entered his field of vision was a "human," including his enemies. Chen Biao empathized with the miserable plight of "humans."
At this time, they wanted to learn from the treacherous ministers in history who served the tyrants and kept Chen Biao out of their sight of things they didn't want him to see.
Unfortunately, their "adoptive father" disagreed. Even though Biao'er was so smart, he couldn't have kept it a secret and would have said contemptuously, "Are you stupid?"
Chen Biao came all the way to the palace city of Yuan Dadu.
Although the Yuan Dynasty emperor took away all the gold, silver and valuables, he did not set fire to the palace.
Because the Yuan Dynasty was so confident in its military strength, they left believing that their defeat was simply due to carelessness. They would soon return to Dadu. If they burned everything now, they would have to spend money rebuilding it later, which would not be worth the cost.
Chen Biao did not want to listen to the Yuan officials' praises, so he asked his two brothers to play rock-paper-scissors. After two wins out of three, Li Wenzhong lost and was forced to meet with the Yuan officials. Chen Biao took Chen Ying straight to the palace where the Yuan Dynasty books were stored.
After seeing the room full of books, Chen Biao finally smiled.
"Call all the educated people in the army and sort through the books. Hehe, especially the rare copies, sort them all out." Chen Biao rubbed his hands together. "I'll immediately have the Chen family's printers print a few thousand copies of these rare copies. We can sell them to raise money for the reconstruction of Dadu, and they can also pass on these rare copies to future generations."
Win-win! I win twice!
Seeing that Chen Biao was finally happy, Chen Ying breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Okay, I will send a large number of troops to guard it."
Chen Biao paced back and forth in the palace where the books were stored, saying with a stern face, "Gold, silver, and treasures are secondary. Take out something shiny and bright to reward everyone. This is the customary practice in sieges. The first one to enter the city will be the first to gain the benefits. Don't worry about me. But don't give any of these books as gifts! All of them must be left to the Ming King. This is the foundation of the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Do you understand?"
Chen Ying said seriously, "Yes! I will obey your orders."
Chen Biao's expression could no longer remain calm. Like when they were little, he pulled Chen Ying's sleeve and said, "Brother Ying, please post a notice for me to recruit scholars from Dadu to copy books. As long as they can copy ten books, they can take one away at random."
Before printing entered the mechanical age, books were a treasure and a form of wealth, and collecting books was a luxury.
Emperors of all dynasties who wanted to make achievements in civil administration would order the compilation of books and re-integrate and copy some rare copies. For example, in the "Yongle Encyclopedia", under the situation of Confucianism having the final say at that time, all the miscellaneous theories that were not tolerated by Confucianism were included in it, so that they could be passed down.
However, some emperors compiled books in order to destroy them. While compiling books, they destroyed the original books in order to tamper with things that were detrimental to the rule of the dynasty. For example, the "Siku Quanshu" was jokingly called the "Siku Ruined Books".
Chen Biao was not an emperor, and therefore had no right to compile the Yongle Encyclopedia like the Yongle Emperor. He could only take advantage of the brief period when he could capture the Yuan capital without causing too much fighting, leaving the official collection of books intact, and encourage many people to copy the books, so that the rare copies would have a chance to be passed down.
At the same time, using the Yuan Dynasty's official collection of books as bait, scholars who had already recognized the Yuan Dynasty as orthodox and wanted to escape from the world might take the bait and stay, and be used by the Ming King.
Moreover, the Ming King had occupied Yuan Dadu, so it was time for him to be crowned emperor. The scholars of the world had slandered the Ming King for so long, so they must be given a way to participate in the imperial examinations and be recommended to become officials in the Ming Dynasty.
This time, organizing people to sort out and copy the official collection of books of the Yuan Dynasty is a good opportunity.
Chen Biao sat on the floor in the library, only removing his arm armor, and scribbled a memorial to the King.
Although he "acted first and reported later" at this time, the "report" must be timely, which is the way of a minister.
After drying the ink, Chen Biao said to the messenger, "Please help me find out about my parents."
The messenger nodded: "Yes."
His face was filled with both joy and regret. He was happy because he would definitely be rewarded for bringing back such good news; he was regretful because he might get even greater rewards by following the military advisor.
The military advisor only wanted the book, which he left for his lord, and refused to take any of the other property. He also gave his share to the army to buy supplies from the people of Yuan Dadu.
Chen Biao ordered the Ming army to raise the banner of Yue Family Army, "We would rather freeze to death than demolish houses, and we would rather starve to death than plunder."
As basic education became more widespread in the military, so too did cultural activities like drama. Soldiers were not only allowed to watch plays, but also to create their own.
At this time, Chen Biao selected some people with special skills, took off their military uniforms and put on theatrical costumes, first playing "Prince Yue" and then "Marshal Chang". Instead of relying on announcements, he used dramas and operas to tell the people that our Ming army is a good army and is a good army that inherited Prince Yue's last wish to march north.
Even in the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, the people knew about Prince Yue and Marshal Chang.
Yue Wangye was so famous that even the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty had to treat him with courtesy.
Marshal Chang's reputation is accompanying Ye Zheng's pen, who is eyeing Sichuan and Shu with covetous eyes, and his achievements and fame are hidden.
People from all eras are the same. Even in the most dangerous moments, they can't help but want to watch the fun.
The Ming army set up a stage to perform a show, but they were very afraid of the Ming army, which was portrayed as cannibals by the Yuan Dynasty, and still came to watch "secretly".
After a few performances, the people actually started throwing flowers and coins onto the stage.
Chen Biao quickly asked people to spread the word that our Ming army's performances were free, but the people said they had never seen such beautiful and interesting plays and insisted on giving tips.
Chen Biao had no choice but to have a box placed in front of the stage, and those who wanted to give tips could drop money into the box. 10% of the money donated went to the soldiers as hard work fees, and 90% was used in the name of the Ming King to help the poor people in Dadu.
"This is a charity performance," Chen Biao said. "There's nothing shameful about it. It's charity, understand?"
Chen Biao has really figured out the definition of charity, as he can make money and gain fame.
Chen Biao's prestige was now extremely high, and his words were the truth, and the generals obeyed him. After a few days, the effect was very good, and the people were no longer afraid of the Ming army.
For ordinary people, changes of dynasties don’t matter, as long as they are good.
There was famine in Yuan Dadu every year, so changing the emperor might be a good thing.
Only the Yuan Dynasty officials were very scared.
The Ming army's easy capture of Yuan Dadu had already exceeded their expectations. They had even managed to easily gain the approval of the people of Yuan Dadu, bringing this capital, cultivated by the Yuan Dynasty for nearly a hundred years, under their wing without any resistance. This frightened them even more than the fall of Yuan Dadu itself.
Conquering a city doesn't guarantee true ownership, especially of a large city with a large population. The true measure of ownership lies in the people's submission.
Is it so easy to win the hearts of the people? They don't even give them any benefits! And they let them spend money on them!
Not to mention those Yuan Dynasty officials who did not die for their country, even the generals of the Ming army were completely confused.
Chen Biao explained, "First, it's easy to give the people small favors. They won't trust us, and they'll even be more afraid that we won't make a thousand times the profit. But the army performing for the people is unique. They believe that we've put in so much effort and won't cheat them."
This is the difference between times. If it were modern times, people would be immune to these sweet words and would be better off giving them grain, oil, rice, flour and eggs.
In this era, culture and entertainment were luxuries for the upper class. The soldiers performed plays for the common people, letting them enjoy the pleasure of being "spectators". The common people knew that these soldiers really treated them as human beings.
"Furthermore, we should thank Prince Yue and Marshal Chang. Their reputations were key to our quick success in winning the hearts of the people," Chen Biao said. "I heard that Marshal Chang, in order to provide a stable rear base for our Northern Expedition, asked to remain in the south to continue farming and guard against Zhangwu and Mingxia. Marshal Chang has such a broad mind, which is truly worthy of our learning."
The generals nodded one after another and selected some good things from their spoils to give to Marshal Chang who "voluntarily stayed behind" after returning.
Marshal Chang, recognized as the most courageous general in the army, was willing to give up the credit for the Northern Expedition. Their breadth of mind, bearing and vision were really far inferior to his.
Chen Biao said, "This play must continue. Yingtian has already adapted the well-field system and the new laws into a play, using this new method to promote them to the people. Since the people of Dadu can accept the play as a means of communication, we will continue to use this method to promote the system and laws of the Ming Dynasty. Brother Zhong, you will be the one to arrange this matter."
Li Wenzhong said weakly, "Yes."
Chen Biao suppressed a smile: "Okay, I know you've worked hard. I've asked Brother Ying to take over from you. Come on, smile."
Li Wenzhong forced a smile and said, "It's time for Wen Zheng to take over from me. Those cunning people have surrendered the city as prisoners, yet they still act like they are officials and we are bandits."
Zhu Wenzheng nodded: "Ah, yes, yes, let me go, I'll punch them in the nose twice, then they will know who is an official and who is a bandit!"
Chen Biao gave Zhu Wenzheng a small fist and said, "Ah, right? Do you want to be beaten by the lord again?"
Zhu Wenzheng laughed and said, "Let him get beaten. It will be fine in a few days anyway. I'm happy to be beaten if I can give them a few punches."
Chen Biao scowled: "I don't agree! Stay with me and keep the book, and don't do anything else!"
Zhu Wenzheng shrugged. "Well, that's really boring. By the way, the women in the palace have almost calmed down. Someone who is said to be the imperial concubine is begging to meet you."
Chen Biao was puzzled: "Looking for me?"
Zhu Wenzheng said: "Maybe because you are young, they know you have no desire for women, so they just want to meet you?"
As soon as Zhu Wenzhen finished speaking, Li Wenzhong grabbed the back of his head and pushed him to the ground.
Zhu Wenzhen immediately half squatted down and took a horse stance, "Ah hey, you can't buckle it!"
Chen Ying stretched out his foot expressionlessly, and Zhu Wenzhen lost his balance and was pinned to the ground by Li Wenzhong.
Zhu Wenzheng shouted: "How can you fight two against one!"
Chen Ying crossed his arms and stepped on Zhu Wenzheng's back: "If you keep talking nonsense in front of Biao'er, I will report you to my godfather and godmother, and we will fight four against one."
Zhu Wenzheng said, "I was just joking! Biao'er wasn't angry, right?"
Chen Biao said, "Brother Ying, get out of the way."
Chen Ying retracted his foot.
Zhu Wenzheng was proud: "I said... Ouch!"
Chen Biao kicked off his little boots and jumped on Zhu Wenzhen's back.
Zhu Wenzhen screamed in pain, Li Wenzhong burst into laughter, and Chen Ying folded his arms and sneered.
"Biao'er! Biaodi! My dear brother! You have grown up! Do you still think you are a child? Your brother's back is going to break!"
"Hehehe, whatever."
The generals looked out and saw that the brothers were quarreling again. General Zhu, who loved to tease the military advisor the most, was bullied by the military advisor again, and he couldn't help but smile.
The march and battle are so lively and joyful, it can only be like this when you follow the military advisor into battle.
After bullying Zhu Wenzhen, Chen Biao came to the harem of the Yuan Dynasty emperor under Zhu Wenzhen's protection.
The Yuan Dynasty emperor only took away the empress and concubines, and most of the female relatives and concubines were left behind.
When the capital was captured, these women were usually distributed among the generals as spoils of war. If the generals were sensible, they would give the women of status to their lords and wait for their lords to distribute them. If they were not, they would just grab them for themselves.
In troubled times, beautiful young women, like gold, silver and jewelry, are considered "property".
Since Chen Biao said that women were not allowed to be abducted , then the women in the palace were naturally included.
Even if Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to use these women as rewards to others later, at least now, these women could not be taken away by others.
After being comforted for a few days, the palace ladies knew that the Ming army had no intention of forcing them, so they began to feel uneasy and wanted to seek a good future for themselves.
For these women, it was not that they were unwilling to be concubines of the Ming army generals, but they just did not want to be "robbed".
Because they were "robbed", they might not even have a legitimate status, and might even face death overnight.
After Chen Biao arrived at the harem, the palace ladies became more relaxed when they saw his young face.
The old concubine glanced at them, and the women immediately lowered their heads and no longer looked directly at Chen Biao, being very respectful.
Most of the ladies in the palace have good etiquette and know how to treat important people.
The old concubine knelt down and said, "Please give us a place to go, my lord."
At this time, "大人" did not refer specifically to officials, but was a colloquial honorific. Elders or prestigious people could also be addressed as "大人." In written language and official address, the term "大人" was not used, but rather the official's title was addressed directly.
The old concubine did not know what kind of official Chen Biao was, so she addressed him as "Sir".
The other female members of the family also kowtowed and begged Chen Biao.
After they finished bowing, Chen Biao deliberately said arrogantly, "We, the Ming King, are willing to give everyone who is willing to be a commoner a chance. Anyone of you who has a skill, whether it's farming, weaving, or embroidery, can choose to divide the land and work."
He glanced at the people kneeling on the ground and said, "If you can't bear the hardship of being an ordinary citizen, then continue to stay in this palace and wait for the King to reward you to the generals."
The women in the palace felt relieved.
The old concubine kowtowed again and said, "Thank you, my lord!"
Chen Biao said, "You will help us register the names of the women in the palace. Anyone who wishes to become a commoner may do so. You are not allowed to stop them from leaving. You must understand that you are all captives of the Ming army. There is no distinction between the ladies, officials, and servants in the palace. I heard that someone in the palace was beating and scolding the maids."
The old concubine immediately said in horror: "I have stopped them!"
Chen Biao said indifferently, "You stopped it just in time. If I had stopped it, I would have been exiled to the frontier for the crime of wounding someone."
Some of the women lying on the ground had expressions of resentment and unwillingness on their faces.
Chen Biao knew that someone would resent him, but he was too lazy to observe who resented him.
The future of these people is worse than that of duckweed, which at least knows how to unite and form a single mass in the river.
Even if they resent me, it has no effect on me, so why bother observing?
Chen Biao had palace ladies who were willing to leave the palace and become commoners register on the spot. Other ladies who were still hesitant had a chance as long as they waited until the King Ming arrived.
Almost all the ordinary palace maids in the harem pressed their fingerprints immediately to become ordinary people.
They competed to share what they knew. Most of them knew embroidery and weaving, and some also knew medicine and cooking.
Chen Biao arranged this group of people to a palace separately, gave them some things, and said that he would arrange an assessment for them later. If those with outstanding skills would be given priority in arranging jobs.
The rest of the people, those who have homes to return to will go home; those who have no homes to return to or whose parents and brothers are not good people and who do not want to go home will wait for the land to be divided and live in different places.
"For those who are homeless or unwilling to return home, please state your wishes in writing, and I will arrange for you to go to another city. If you want to get married, wait until the land is distributed, and then find a good family in the local area. When the land is distributed, there should be a blind date event at the same time. You can take your time to choose, there is no rush, this is a lifelong thing."
When Chen Biao faced this group of women who actively registered to leave the palace, his expression relaxed a lot and a smile appeared on his face.
A maid boldly asked, "Can you still choose?"
Chen Biao nodded. "You are good-looking, and you are good at weaving, embroidering, and cooking. There are many people who want to marry you. Take your time to choose. Even if you can't find a good choice, there is no need to rush. The law allows women to propose divorce. You should study the law carefully."
Another maid asked, "Can we, can we also enter the general's room?"
Chen Biao sighed inwardly, but a smile remained on his face. "If a general takes a liking to you and you're willing, then of course there's no problem. This is a matter of mutual consent. But since you're willing to follow the general, why do you want to leave the palace? Wouldn't it be better to wait to be rewarded by the Ming King?"
The maid blushed and said, "I don't want to marry a great general, but a very small official."
Someone beside her whispered, "I just don't want to be a concubine. I want to be a straight-faced wife."
Chen Biao laughed. "Is that so? Then you better watch out for the first blind date. Many of the soldiers who will be stationed in Dadu will attend the first blind date. But rather than official positions, you should pay more attention to personal character. You are all used to seeing rich people in the palace, and marrying someone with a glamorous appearance may not necessarily make your life glamorous."
The palace maids nodded vigorously.
Zhu Wenzheng looked at his brother speechlessly. "You really worry about everything. You even worry about these women finding husbands."
Chen Biao dared to make such arrangements for the women in the palace, naturally with the approval of the joint edict of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and his wife Ma Xiuying.
Originally, it was the Chen family's job to revitalize and capture cities. Dadu held a special status, and Chen Biao had no intention of interfering. However, the Ming King sent him a letter, asking him to follow the old rules. Dadu was nothing special, and he hadn't even bothered to come immediately, rushing to Gansu. So Chen Biao just went to work.
Perhaps it was because Chen Biao was young, or perhaps it was because his smile was too friendly, the palace maids gradually became bolder and carefully asked Chen Biao about the "job arrangement" and "blind date".
"The Ming King has opened many official workshops and is in urgent need of skilled weavers and weavers. The palace has always fostered the most skilled weavers and embroiderers, and we are very eager to learn your skills. I will send someone to teach you how to read. Who knows, you might become teachers to the women in the workshops in the future."
"The same goes for cooking and medicine. If you no longer want to be slaves, then have each family send people to learn from you. Don't worry about being forced into slavery just because you have a unique skill."
"The matchmaking event is hosted by Madam Xiuying. In troubled times, families are ruined and matchmakers' orders are no longer binding. Madam Xiuying, in the name of the government, is the matchmaker. Men can pursue women, and women can pursue men. Those who are interested write their names on a red card, with priority given to those who are willing. The card will be kept secret until the moment of engagement, when it is exchanged. You will know the details when Madam Xiuying sends someone."
Chen Biao sat and talked, and the palace maids looked at him quietly, with expressions becoming more and more excited and happy.
The news that the Ming army was performing for the people in the capital city also reached the palace, and they were very curious about the Ming army.
Most of the women in the palace had skills and were well-versed in etiquette, making them highly sought-after slaves by the nobles. Therefore, it was difficult for them to escape and become free. They could only hope to be treated like ordinary people.
Now their hope can easily come true, and they are both looking forward to and worried about the future.
After Chen Biao left, he went to the military camp to tell the soldiers that the palace maids had left the palace and registered as civilians, and many of them were willing to find a husband in the army.
"You should all be well aware of how outstanding the palace ladies are. Since we've entered the city first, I'll ask the lord to hold a matchmaking event within the army," Chen Biao said. "But you must understand that because they're so outstanding, the rich and powerful will want to take them as concubines or even slaves. If you don't have the ability, you won't be able to protect them. Figure it out for yourselves."
Zhu Wenzheng was helpless: "Why are you trying to scare them? I don't believe that anyone under our command would dare to steal the wife of a subordinate."
Chen Biao shook his head: "We won't, but others may not. Even the Lord can't control every corner of the world. Let's make things clear first to avoid any trouble later."
Chen Biao continued to say to the soldiers, "Don't be complacent. We have all experienced troubled times."
The soldiers were whispering, some were regretful, some were nervous, and some were eager to try.
After Chen Biao did what he could, he handed all the women over to the female official sent by Lady Xiuying and did not ask any more questions.
The matchmaking event that was held in advance in the military camp was also in the charge of the female officer. Chen Biao could not and would not interfere in this matter.
As for the female members of the palace with more noble status, after the female officials arrived, they were given places to stay according to the orders of King Ming and Queen Ming.
What surprised Chen Biao was that King Ming did not keep any one for himself and gave all the rewards to the generals.
Zhu Wenzheng said: "What's so surprising? I didn't ask for it either."
Chen Ying said: "I don't want it either."
Li Wenzhong burst into tears: "When can I get married? How can I dare to ask for a wife before I get married! What if there is no good woman willing to be with me!"
Li Wenzhong's marriage was a difficult one . Ma Xiuying had originally planned to introduce him to a woman, but as his achievements grew, the suitable woman no longer seemed suitable. Li Zhen insisted on not letting Li Wenzhong marry the daughter of an important official, which gave Ma Xiuying a headache.
Chen Ying was in no hurry to get married. Although Zhu Wenzheng's marriage had also been difficult, he already had a son, so he mocked Li Wenzhong without restraint.
"Don't worry, don't worry. By the time my son gets married, you will have already married." Zhu Wenzhen put his hands on his hips and laughed, which made Li Wenzhong so angry that he wanted to beat him up.
Li Wenzhong sighed to the sky: "I might as well go to this blind date."
Chen Biao laughed so hard that he couldn't straighten his back. "Okay, okay, Mom said she's already looked after you and is asking for the other party's consent. Don't worry. Originally, it didn't work out, so I didn't plan to tell you."
Li Wenzhong immediately picked up Chen Biao and flew him in circles: "Biao'er! Really?"
Chen Biao said, "Really? Stop turning. I'm already this big, be careful not to throw me out. Mom is also helping Brother Ying, so don't worry."
Chen Ying had never experienced the pain that Li Wenzhong had, so she wasn't particularly surprised. "Thank you, godmother, for your concern."
As the three of them were arguing, the guards came to see them: "Generals Deng Yu and Zhao Desheng have returned victorious."
The three people except Chen Biao jumped up and shouted in unison: "The dog emperor was caught?!"
The guard couldn't contain his joy: "Got it!"
Zhu Wenzheng picked up Chen Biao and put him on his shoulder, then ran out: "Great!"
Chen Biao's stomach was choked by Zhu Wenzhen's shoulder and he almost vomited.
Let me go, it’s forbidden!
Li Wenzhong and Chen Ying were a step late, chasing after him while yelling, "Zhu Wenzheng! Put down the flag!"
Zhu Wenzheng laughed and ran forward: "Brother Biao's legs are too short to run fast, I will take him!"
Chen Biao screamed at the top of his lungs: "Put me down! Ugh!"