Chapter 146: Leave your name in history, don't fight for the inscription
When his parents came, Chen Biao took a day off and stayed with them, becoming a child again.
Even with his younger brothers around, Chen Biao was too lazy to care about his image and instead urged his younger brothers to help him with work.
"You have grown up, and it's time to share my work." Chen Biao was just joking, but he didn't expect that the four younger brothers worked very hard to do what they could, so Chen Biao let them do it.
Children in feudal times had to grow up early, so it was good for them to be exposed to these things earlier.
Chen Biao praised his younger brothers to Zhu Yuanzhang, saying that they were both talented in literature and martial arts and had high ideological levels. When the students and generals were arguing this time, the younger brothers' thoughts were consistent with those of their eldest brother.
He also had another meaning. Although my ideas, Chen Biao, do not conform to current reality, I still think I am more capable.
Chen Biao never shows modesty when bragging in front of his father.
Zhu Yuanzhang first confirmed that his son was indeed more powerful, then said disdainfully: "You taught them, and their ideas are inconsistent with yours, so what? Besides, I don't think they have thought that much, they just simply think that enemies should be killed!"
Chen Chong and Chen Tan glanced at their father silently.
Although this is true, they don't want to be told by their father.
Chen Biao insisted that his father was jealous of his younger brothers' intelligence and ideological level, and Zhu Yuanzhang pretended to pat Chen Biao on the head.
Chen Biao put his hands on his hips and said, "Come on, beat me up, do it yourself!"
Zhu Yuanzhang used to dare to raise his hand and wave it a few times to threaten Chen Biao, but this time he couldn't even raise his hand.
Chen Biao had a brief emotional breakdown because of the battle in Tongmo Town. He felt guilty and distressed. He used to be able to speak loudly but was weak inside, but now he was reluctant to even raise his voice.
"If you have something to say, say it nicely. Don't touch me." Zhu Yuanzhang said this as if he was not going to hit Chen Biao, but as if Chen Biao was going to commit treason and beat him, the emperor father.
After Chen Biao rested for a day, the tedious work was taken over by his parents, and he was only responsible for the post-war pensions and memorial services for the soldiers.
During this period, he dreamed of his childhood, where he only needed to chatter and make comments, and his family helped him with most of the things.
Ah, it’s so comfortable to lie down.
Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to take over the pension and memorial services so that Chen Biao could have some time to rest, but Chen Biao was unwilling to do so.
As the commander-in-chief, he started the battle and must end it well.
The largest memorial service Zhu Yuanzhang ever held was for the people who died tragically in Yangzhou.
Chen Biao imitated Zhu Yuanzhang's memorial service for the people of Yangzhou at that time, and buried the soldiers who could not return home together and erected a unified monument.
The inscription on the front of the stone tablet describes the causes, consequences and significance of the battle, and the back of the stone tablet is densely packed with the names of the fallen generals.
Chen Biao did not decorate the stone tablet too much, and the scale of the planned memorial service was also small.
In this era, if you do something too unorthodox, it will not be good for Chen Biao himself or for the fallen soldiers mentioned in the inscription.
If the scale of this memorial service is too high, the problem will not be the lack of support but the imbalance of distribution, and the soldiers of other armies may feel uncomfortable.
It was impossible for Chen Biao to make all the generals do things according to his ideas. Even if the generals were willing, they had neither the money nor the energy to do so.
In today's world, a general who can carefully manage and ensure that most of the food and wages reach the soldiers is already considered to be of the highest integrity and excellence. Raising the status of the lower-level soldiers would lead to consequences that are somewhat unbearable.
For example, if the status of soldiers is improved, should their treatment also be improved?
The Ming Dynasty did not have enough money and food to improve the treatment of ordinary soldiers, and other vested interests were unwilling to see the status of military personnel improved. Moreover, this would involve troublesome issues such as royal power, disputes between civil and military officials, and so on.
Any "production relations" that are not in line with the current productivity will be a big step and will fall. Chen Biao always examines himself with the thoughts of future generations, but will not do things that are beyond this era.
When Zhu Yuanzhang patted his chest and said that he would tell the "Emperor of the Great Ming" that monuments should be built to commemorate ordinary soldiers in the future, Chen Biao stopped Zhu Yuanzhang and told him that doing so would do more harm than good.
Although this is the right thing to do, the right thing may not necessarily be done, and it may not be "right" at the moment.
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered this contradictory statement for a long time before sighing, "You are right."
The reason why Chen Biao was able to erect a monument and write the inscription for ordinary soldiers this time was because of the same style as "Fenglangjuxu" and "Yanran Leshi".
After killing Kuyuk Timur, the remaining Yuan Dynasty had no generals capable of leading troops; after destroying this heavy cavalry, it would take several years for the remaining Yuan Dynasty to reorganize the heavy cavalry.
The generals and armies of the remaining Yuan Dynasty must be retrained, which will be more beneficial to the Ming Dynasty's recuperation than capturing their emperor and crown prince.
It can be said that the defeat of Kuyuk Timur had already nailed the lid of the coffin of the Yuan Dynasty. Even if they were still breathing in the coffin, it was only a slow death.
Therefore, considering Kuyuk Timur's fame, the battle of Tongmo Town is worthy of being commemorated with a large stone tablet, just like "Fenglangjuxu" and "Yanranlegong".
It's just that the soldiers' ashes are buried under the tombstone, the front of the tombstone depicts the soldiers' heroic deeds, and the back of the tombstone is engraved with the names of the fallen soldiers.
Showing off military achievements was the main thing, and offering memorials was secondary. This way, no one would object.
Liu Lian and Zhu Tong were in disagreement as to who wrote the inscription.
So the two of them competed in archery, and Zhu Tong was slightly better, so he proudly won the competition.
Zhu Tong was a man of great literary talent, and his articles were praised by Zhu Yuanzhang, who was hiding aside and dared not see anyone. However, his articles were sent back by Chen Biao for rewriting.
"The heroic deeds of the generals in this battle will be recorded in history books. Your epitaph should describe the people and events that will not be recorded in history books." Chen Biao said, "I will rewrite the epitaph and leave the article for future generations to refer to when they write my biography."
Chen Biao pinched his chin and said proudly, "It's really well written. If I weren't the person involved, I really thought I could fight Kuyuk Timur to a draw."
Deng Yu and the others were delighted after reading the article. How proud they were to have their deeds engraved on a stone tablet!
After hearing what Chen Biao said, they scratched their heads and felt that it made sense.
"Yeah, we'll definitely get our own biography in the future, right?"
"I'm sure I can do it, but you might not."
"Don't worry about the military advisor, he can definitely start his own career!"
"It's enough that our names are in the history books. Please don't brag about us too much on this monument."
"We'll just leave our names under the inscription to keep our brothers company."
The generals happily agreed to Chen Biao's suggestion without any dissatisfaction.
Zhu Tong seemed to be thinking about something.
He knew that not only scholars loved fame, but warriors also fought desperately. In addition to wealth and glory, they naturally also hoped to leave their names in history.
After hearing Chen Biao's words, the generals gave up on such a glorious thing that was engraved on the stone tablet without any regrets, which made Zhu Tong deeply touched.
"Yes, I will definitely fulfill my mission!" Zhu Tong bowed.
His etiquette was so considerate that it made several generals feel embarrassed.
Of course, they also coveted the title of Fenglangjuxu and Yanran, but the military advisor was right. They were all people who could be recorded in history books, so why bother to fight for the reputation of sacrificing their comrades? Besides, if they gave up this "name", they might gain a greater "name".
These people are indeed free and easy, but the reason they gave up on this matter is not entirely because of their free and easy attitude. They are not stupid.
When Zhu Tong wanted to write again, he did not start writing immediately. Instead, he went deep into the soldiers and asked them about what they saw and heard on the battlefield.
Liu Lian did not get the opportunity to write the inscription this time, but he also took paper and pen and followed Zhu Tong to record, as if he was trying to come up with something big.
Chen Biao was not curious. When Liu Lian wanted to tell him, he would tell him naturally.
Although there were many names to be engraved on the stone tablet, there were many people in the army who could write and carve, so the work was completed very quickly.
The names on the back of the stone tablets were written in different handwritings, some were crooked, and had no aesthetic appeal at all - Chen Biao tried his best to have people who were familiar with the heroic souls behind the names write their names.
Chen Biao often laughs at others for being superstitious, but he is sometimes superstitious too.
Of course, he vehemently denied it, insisting it was just a ritual.
When February came, the birds were singing, the grass was growing, the river was thawing, and the people were going out to farm with hoes on their shoulders. The stone tablet was erected.
Kuyuk Timur was also buried with him.
After the Northern Yuan were driven out, this wasteland would be cultivated, and those who had fled famine would return to this small town nestled between mountains and rivers. The corpses of the Yuan soldiers could not be left exposed in the wilderness, as they would cause trouble for the people and could even cause plague in the hot weather.
After a huge fire burned the corpses of the Yuan soldiers, Chen Biao, in accordance with the order of Emperor Hongwu, buried the head and ashes together with Kuyuk Timur's head. There was no need to transport the head back from a long distance to prevent it from rotting, which was considered a respectful act for Kuyuk Timur.
The Yuan army and Kuyuk Timur also had a stele, a small stele next to the large stone stele of the Ming army, on which was written the name and life of Kuyuk Timur, as well as the story of how they were defeated by the Ming soldiers next to them.
When Zhu Yuanzhang learned about Chen Biao's actions, he almost laughed out loud.
He had never expected that his own son could be so mean, and that he could do it so openly and confidently that no one could find fault with him.
Don't insult an excellent enemy general, right? Look, I buried him properly.
I buried them next to the Ming army soldiers who died in battle. How respectful I am to them!
Biaoer, are you erecting a monument for them, or using them as sacrifices to commemorate the fallen soldiers?
Chen Biao hit his father and said bluntly that this was slander.
Am I, Chen Biao, the kind of villain who says one thing in public and another in private?
Zhu Yuanzhang, who was beaten, looked at Chen Biao and said, "It's quite small, and it needs to grow longer. How come this head is bigger than mine, which was never fed since childhood..."
Chen Biao jumped up and punched Zhu Yuanzhang on the forehead, then turned and ran: "Mom! Dad bullied me!"
Zhu Yuanzhang wiped the red mark on his head and cursed, "Who is bullying whom? You bastard!"
Yan Qian was speechless.
After Chen Biao left, he said, "Your Majesty, you have been here for a month. Don't you want to answer the heaven?"
The lord has ascended the throne, but he is not in the palace. Is this acceptable?
Zhu Yuanzhang's self-righteous expression was similar to that of Chen Biao, who stood with his hands on his hips: "I've read history books! Most wise and capable emperors didn't stay in the palace for long! Can't I just stay here to avoid the cold?"
Yan Qian: "...Yes, of course." You are the emperor and you have the final say. If you say you want to come to Beiping to avoid the cold, then Beiping is a good place to avoid the cold!
Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed justified. Although he helped Chen Biao share most of the mundane affairs, he did not neglect his own work. He approved all the memorials that needed to be approved every day and burned all the memorials that needed to be burned immediately, without missing a single thing.
Whatever he did before becoming emperor, he did the same thing after becoming emperor, except that there were more ceremonial things, such as grand court meetings.
Since it was a useless ceremony, how could it be more important than the standard? Zhu Yuanzhang reasoned that although the Ming Dynasty had been established, the world had not yet been completely pacified, so he dispensed with those purely ceremonial things and would deal with them after the world was pacified and officials were fully appointed.
Zhang Changzheng gathered a group of people to submit a memorial, trying to stop Zhu Yuanzhang from running around, and asked Zhu Yuanzhang to stay in Yingtian and be an honest emperor according to the norms of emperors in history books.
Zhu Yuanzhang only urged Zhang Chang to write a biography of Tuotuo as soon as possible, and used this as an excuse to "temporarily" remove Zhang Chang from his actual position, allowing Zhang Chang to concentrate on writing articles.
Zhang Chang seemed to realize something, and stayed indoors all day, finally calming down.
When Zhang Chang was not staying indoors, it seemed that everyone in the newly established court in Yingtian was opposing Zhu Yuanzhang's behavior of not being an emperor properly; as soon as Zhang Chang stayed indoors, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly had peace of mind.
He sighed, saying that this was what Biaoer meant by "the minority expressing the voice of the majority."
"What's with that look on your face? I'm telling you, I've decided to designate Beiping as Beijing and Yingtian as Nanjing, just like the Yuan Dynasty's Dadu and Shangdu, creating two capitals!" Zhu Yuanzhang was brimming with pride at his sudden good idea. "That way, those people won't have anything to say."
Yan Qian took a deep breath. "Beiping is Beijing?! Beiping is close to the grasslands and is an important border town!"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Yes, my son Biao'er and I are personally guarding the border. I wonder which fools dare to come here! I don't have the money to fight deep into the grasslands now, so they stick their heads out and get beaten. Isn't that just right?"
Yan Qian: "...The Emperor and the Crown Prince guarding the border is unheard of."
Zhu Yuanzhang said happily: "A beggar becoming emperor is unheard of. Okay, it's settled."
Yan Qian was speechless again.
In order to find an excuse to stay with Biao'er as much as possible, the emperor can come up with any bad ideas.
Hopefully someone can stop him.
But at this time, the most virtuous and rational Empress Ma kept silent and made preparations to move to Peking. Others felt uncomfortable and didn't know what to say.
Even if there were objections, the highest-ranking officials under Zhu Yuanzhang were all there with their eyes closed, shouting, "The emperor guarding the national border is an unprecedented feat. Your Majesty is wise!" Now that there was no Zhang Chang to take the lead in singing a dissenting tune, they could only helplessly let Zhu Yuanzhang do what he wanted.
There was no way around it. The highest-ranking officials under Zhu Yuanzhang all knew that the crown prince had gone to guard Peking. Whether Zhu Yuanzhang issued this decree or not, the future emperor would be sitting in Peking. Didn't Peking deserve to be called "Beijing"?
Some people wanted to transfer Chen Biao back to Yingtian. However, when someone who felt sorry for Chen Biao made such a request, he was unanimously criticized by the generals who did not know Chen Biao's identity.
They believed that it was Chen Biao who had conquered and defended Peking. Now that Peking had stabilized somewhat, how could they deprive Chen Biao of his position and allow him to return to heaven as an idle official? This would only chill the hearts of meritorious officials!
Moreover, Beiping was the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, and the people there were already accustomed to Yuan rule and difficult to educate. Now the people in the north only obey Chen Biao, and changing the general to garrison would probably cause civil unrest.
The uncles who felt sorry for Biao'er were labeled as jealous and envious villains. The corners of their mouths twitched and they were scolded by their colleagues out of grievance.
Because of this, some old brothers even came to my door and scolded me, "How did you become like this! You were not like this before!"
Kang Maocai: "I almost got beaten up."
Hua Yun: "I want to give them a few fucking punches right now!"
Liao Yongan held his forehead and said, "I didn't know my brother was so good at scolding people."
Tang He was puzzled: "Wait, where is Xu Da?"
Zhu Yuanzhang's confidants held a meeting and found that Xu Da was missing.
When they found Xu Da's house, they learned that Xu Da had secretly gone to Peking and took the same boat as Zhu Wenzhen, Li Wenzhong and Chen Ying.
I will go to Beiping secretly without you. Xu Da also left a small note for his good brothers Tang He and Zhou Dexing, which almost made them faint with anger.
Speaking of Zhu Wenzhen, Li Wenzhong and Chen Ying, they were fooled by Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang went to Beiping himself, but told his three triumphant adopted sons that he was in Yingtian, and asked them to report to Yingtian first before going to Beiping.
As soon as the three men returned to Yingtian, they were detained and forced to guard Yingtian on behalf of Zhu Yuanzhang because Zhu Yuanzhang had gone to Peking.
Not to mention that Zhu Wenzhen was so angry that he jumped up and down and cursed, even Chen Ying, who had the best temper, couldn't help but curse in his heart.
Li Wenzhong's eyes were glazed over. "Godfather, you actually lied to me? Godfather, you actually lied to me? Godfather, you actually lied to me?! Godfather, how could you do this?!"
He suffered a great blow because of the betrayal of his beloved adoptive father.
When there was a famine at home, Li Zhen and Li Wenzhong struggled on the brink of life and death for a long time before they found Zhu Yuanzhang and survived.
Li Wenzhong was taught by Li Zhen since he was a child to learn more from Zhu Yuanzhang.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang was very humble in private, he was worthy of Li Wenzhong's admiration, no matter big or small. This was the first time that Li Wenzhong was stabbed in the back by Zhu Yuanzhang in a "big matter".
Foster father! Uncle! You're the emperor now! How could you lie to me?
Zhu Wenzheng cursed: "Other emperors would trick their generals back and kill them, but our emperor tricked his generals back to help him guard the house so he could go out. Where are the historians?! Hurry and write this down! This will make us, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, infamous for eternity!"
Ye Chen, who officially served as the historian, raised his eyebrows.
I've recorded it, I'm already recording it. When the crown prince returns to the throne, I'll write this into the "Veritable Records of Ming Taizu."
However, it is hard to say whether this interesting story will be remembered for eternity or for eternity.
Some of the three adopted sons cursed on the spot, some cursed in their hearts, and some kept muttering "How could this be possible?" Zhu Yuanzhang probably realized that he had done something wrong, so after a month, he asked Chang Yuchun and Li Shanchang to temporarily take over the affairs of the three men and let them return to Beiping.
Li Shanchang had long been accustomed to cleaning up Zhu Yuanzhang's mess, and he continued to help Zhu Yuanzhang clean up the mess numbly.
Chang Yuchun couldn't believe it: "What? I'm helping Lord Li handle court affairs? I only know how to fight, not how to do anything else!"
Li Shanchang said quietly, "Ming Dynasty Colonial Marshal Chang Yuchun doesn't know how to write documents. Do you think people in the world will believe it?"
Chang Yuchun: “…”
Chang Yuchun felt very panicked.
Chang Yuchun really wanted to show Li Shanchang how to run away on the spot, but Li Shanchang was too old and he didn't dare to do so.
So Chang Yuchun returned to Yingtian and had to work as a civil servant.
He thought it would be better to go back south.
Although he would have to continue farming , and he could also fight while farming, it was different from now, where he could only sit at his desk every day, looking at a pile of paperwork and worrying.
Chang Yuchun forced an expression of grievance on his tough face: "Xu Da is the Right Prime Minister, so he should be responsible for this, right? Where is Xu Da?"
Li Shanchang said slowly, "Of course he sneaked off to Beiping, using the pretext that Beiping would later become Beijing, so there would have to be a prime minister on either side of Nanjing or Beijing. Listen, how perfect is his excuse?"
Chang Yuchun: “…”
I have never seen such a shameless person.
Chang Yuchun decided that even though Xu Da was older than him, he would definitely fight with Xu Da the next time he saw him.
What's wrong with you being the marshal? What's wrong with you always treating me like a commander? I can't stand this!
I don't dare to challenge the emperor, but I don't dare to chase you, Xu Da, and beat you up!
…
"A-choo." Xu Da rubbed his nose. "It seems that many people in Yingtian are talking about me."
Zhu Wenzhen, Li Wenzhong and Chen Ying were all speechless.
After they got on the boat, they found that there was one more person on the boat. After asking, they learned that Xu Da had received orders from his adoptive father to go to Peking to participate in the memorial ceremony for the soldiers of the Battle of Tongmo Town.
Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately found an excuse to delay the ceremony, just to give Chen Biao a surprise.
In this ceremony, he would disguise himself and preside over it together with Xu Da, giving the Battle of Tongmo Town the status it deserves. As the emperor, he would affirm the greatness of the fallen soldiers and make up for Chen Biao's regret.
