At that time, the Yuan Dynasty was in civil strife and the country was constantly attacking each other.
The future temple name of the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty was Emperor Hui of Yuan. After Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, he gave him the title Emperor Shun of Yuan. Here he is called Emperor Shun of Yuan.
Emperor Shundi of Yuan Dynasty once tried to govern the country with all his strength, but his efforts did not produce good results, and he gradually gave up. After he killed Tuotuo, he became a complete tyrant.
The Yuan Shun Emperor's young and arrogant Crown Prince Ayushiridara forced the Yuan Shun Emperor to abdicate. As a result of the struggle between the father and son, fierce internal strife broke out within the court.
Outside the imperial court, the warlord Bolo Temür, who rose to prominence after suppressing the Red Turban Rebellion, was locked in a fierce conflict with Chagan Temür. After Chagan Temür's death, Kuyuk Temür (also known as Wang Baobao) inherited Chagan Temür's army and continued his relentless struggle with Bolo Temür.
The Yuan Dynasty was plagued by internal strife from within and without, and had no energy to deal with the rebels.
Unfortunately, despite such a good opportunity, the Red Turban Army was also plagued by internal strife.
Zhu Yuanzhang annexed Chen Han and was raising troops to wipe out Chen Youding's forces in Fujian and Guangdong. The rest of the Red Turban Army gradually lost territory due to internal friction and was even unable to defeat the Yuan army that was fighting among itself.
Liu Futong, the only one who persisted in resisting the Yuan Dynasty, was killed in battle when Zhu Yuanzhang was rescuing Hongdu City. Han Lin'er was sent to Dadu by Zhang Shicheng to ask for the position of King of Wu.
Han Lin'er was executed by the Yuan Dynasty, but Zhang Shicheng did not get the position of King of Wu he wanted. This became the last straw that made Zhang Shicheng rebel against the Yuan Dynasty and re-establish himself as King of Wu.
In September, Zhang Shicheng once again raised the banner of rebellion, proclaimed himself King of Wu, and stopped supplying grain to the Yuan Dynasty.
Zhang Shicheng cried and said that he had accepted the Yuan Dynasty's amnesty because of the death of his brother Zhang Shide, but he was deceived by the Yuan Dynasty and his brother was actually harmed by the Yuan Dynasty.
The Yuan Dynasty assassinated his brother in order to create internal strife between him and Zhu Yuanzhang. Now both he and Zhu Yuanzhang have found evidence to prove this.
So in order to avenge his brother, he decided to rebel against the traitor Yuan again and proclaim himself the King of Wu.
Zhu Yuanzhang personally wrote a letter to congratulate Zhang Shicheng for "abandoning the dark and joining the light." Zhang Shicheng finally agreed to accept his letter.
Yang Xian handed Zhu Yuanzhang's letter to Zhang Shicheng. While waiting for Zhang Shicheng's reply, he went to the prison to visit Liao Yongan with wine and meat.
Liao Yongan was only forty-three years old, but his hair and beard were already completely white.
Even though Yang Xian spent the gold and silver given by Chen Biao and had people take good care of Liao Yongan, the life of captivity still exhausted Liao Yongan's mind and made him look like an old man.
Yang Xian looked at Liao Yongan, whose eyes were cloudy, and couldn't help but choke up. "General, the lord has already found a way to rescue you. Please endure for a few more days."
Liao Yongan's eyes became clear again.
He was just sleeping with his eyes open, so his eyes looked a little cloudy.
"Hmm? My Lord, how are you going to get me out?" Liao Yongan accepted the wine and meat. "If it's not in your Lord's interest, I'd rather die. I can't stand this injustice."
Yang Xian leaned closer and lowered his voice, saying, "Don't worry, General. I'll tell you the details slowly after you come out."
Liao Yongan stared at the wine and meat for a long moment before he couldn't help but laugh. "After being locked up for so many years, I feel a little uncomfortable when I'm suddenly told I can get out. Don't lie to me. If you lie to me this time, I might not have the fortitude to wait any longer."
Yang Xian clasped his fists and said, "General, please wait for news in the next few days. General, you must protect yourself well these days and be careful of anyone who might try to tamper with you."
Liao Yongan raised his eyebrows: "Is there anyone else who wants to assassinate me?"
Yang Xian said, "That's hard to say."
Yang Xian left quickly.
Liao Yongan was eating meat and drinking wine when he took out a dagger wrapped in oil paper from the meat.
Written on the oil paper were words: "This is for self-defense, not for suicide. Please don't get me wrong! I will cry to death!"
Liao Yongan almost laughed out loud.
Liao Yongan hid the dagger close to his body and was extremely curious about the "head of the Chen family" whom he had never met before.
Whenever Yang Xian came to see him, he would tell him that the gold, silver, and schemes that kept him comfortable in prison were all from Chen Biao, the head of the Chen family. Yang Xian would also bring him letters from Chen Biao, describing the outside world and encouraging him to cheer up. Marshal Zhu would definitely find a way to rescue him.
Most of Chen Biao's letters were written on edible meat jerky. It was quite interesting to read the letters while eating.
Chen Biao asked Yang Xian to bring some non-brain-demanding toys like checkers, poker, and mahjong. Liao Yongan would sometimes play with the guards.
Anyway, Zhang Shicheng has forgotten about him in the past few years. As long as he uses enough gold and silver, the guards will not make things difficult for him.
After I get out this time, I must thank the head of the Chen family.
Liao Yongan pictured Chen Biao in his mind.
Chen Biao is a wealthy businessman. He might be a little fat and have a kind businessman's smile on his face?
Chen Biao is definitely talented, but he may also be more like a teacher. Although he is a businessman, he is upright?
Could it be that Chen Biao was a strong and powerful warrior, not only a wealthy businessman and scholar, but also a capable general under the lord's command?
No matter what kind of image he has, Chen Biao must be a talented person who attracts people's attention at first glance, right?
While Liao Yongan was picturing Chen Biao's image in his mind, two people were also talking about Chen Biao in an official residence in Yuan Dadu.
One of these two people was named Zhang Chang, who was the Minister of Finance of the Yuan Dynasty. He was a great scholar at the time who established Neo-Confucianism as the official school of thought for the Yuan Dynasty and replaced the "debate between Chinese and barbarians" with "the righteousness between the ruler and the minister."
The other person was named Chen Zuren, who was the top scorer in the imperial examination in the second year of Zhizheng, and served as a councilor of the Secretariat and a direct scholar of the Hanlin Academy in the Yuan Dynasty.
"Chen Biao, it's that Chen Biao again. He's the one behind everything." Zhang Chang put his hands behind his back and sighed to the sky, "I really don't know if that brat really has such ability, or if he has divine help behind him."
Chen Zuren said, "Wenshu, are you really going on a diplomatic mission to Zhu Yuanzhang's territory? I'm afraid you won't be able to come back once you go."
Zhang Chang said, "What I want is someone who never comes back. Alas, it's my fault that all the people I sent were driven away. Zhu Yuanzhang treats ordinary scholars like this. I'm afraid only my reputation can keep him in office."
Chen Zuren was silent, then bowed his head and said: "Wen Shu is a man of high virtue, I am not as good as him."
Zhang Chang shook his head. "I'm not a man of high moral character, and I don't know how much use I can be. But as long as I don't expose myself, my life will be safe. As for you, if you stay in the center of the vortex, you're probably in danger of your life. Why don't you leave with me?"
Chen Zuren smiled and said, "As a minister of the Great Yuan, I am deeply favored by the Emperor. How could I be afraid of death? The Emperor needs advice right now. You are on the outside, and I am on the inside. Together, we can help the Great Yuan overcome this difficult time."
Zhang Chang sighed again and said, "Although this is extremely treasonous and you may not like it, the emperor now... well, it would be better to abdicate the throne to the crown prince. I think the crown prince has some great talent and strategy, and Wang Baobao, whom the crown prince relies on, also has some of the spirit of a brave general."
Chen Zuren smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I know that, too. But the Crown Prince is too impatient. How could he force the Emperor to abdicate? If he were a little more moderate... well, if it really came to that, I would definitely recommend Kuyuk Timur to save the court from this crisis."
Zhang Chang said, "I hope the emperor will listen to me."
The two men sighed to each other, both feeling powerless in the face of this precarious court.
But as loyal ministers of the Yuan Dynasty, they would remain loyal even if it meant sacrificing their lives.
Zhang Chang once again set his eyes on the letter from Jiangnan.
With the court now riven by internal strife, Zhu Yuanzhang's power was growing. Zhang Chang, fearing that Zhu Yuanzhang would exploit the internal strife within the Yuan Dynasty to launch a northern expedition, instructed his spies in Jiangnan to instigate Zhang Shicheng to proclaim himself King of Wu.
Zhang Chang believed that after Zhu Yuanzhang destroyed the Chen and Han dynasties, he would definitely want to be crowned King of Wu. If Zhang Shicheng got there before Zhu Yuanzhang, given Zhu Yuanzhang's unruly temper, he would definitely make Zhang Shicheng his first target.
By the time Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Shicheng started fighting, it would give the Yuan Dynasty a few years of breathing space.
In the past few years, no matter who has the upper hand in the court, the winner should always integrate the forces of the Yuan Dynasty and go south to eliminate the rebels.
Zhang Chang was very confident in the military strength of the Yuan Dynasty. If the Yuan Dynasty had not suddenly experienced internal strife while suppressing the uprising army, the mob would have been trampled into mud by the Yuan cavalry.
Zhang Chang's attention was originally only on Zhang Shicheng.
The Battle of Gaoyou made the Yuan Dynasty court deeply wary of Zhang Shicheng, and everyone believed that Zhang Shicheng would be the Yuan Dynasty's main enemy in the future.
Zhang Chang's attention was only focused on Zhang Shicheng. He kept sending people to stabilize Zhang Shicheng and prevent him from rebelling against the Yuan Dynasty.
It was not until Zhu Yuanzhang led his army to attack Chen Han that Zhang Chang noticed Zhu Yuanzhang, who was a heretic and not liked by the people of his time.
When Zhu Yuanzhang left Yingtian, he instigated a little, and some scholars, who did not like the content taught in the Yingtian Primary School under Zhu Yuanzhang's command, wanted to educate Zhu Yuanzhang, restore order, and re-establish the moral code.
His people also mixed in.
Who would have thought that these people would be defeated by the shameless behavior of a young boy? Zhang Chang was very surprised when he heard the news. Chen Biao was only a child, but his heart was so vicious and insidious, and his methods of dealing with things were cruel and decisive, like a hero.
If this was Zhu Yuanzhang's doing, Zhang Chang wouldn't be surprised. But a child like him? Zhang Chang was genuinely curious about Chen Biao.
After years of observation, Zhang Shicheng had lost his former heroic spirit, and Zhang Chang no longer believed that Zhang Shicheng might endanger the Yuan Dynasty.
In order to protect the Yuan Dynasty from disaster, Zhang Chang decided to let Zhang Shicheng proclaim himself king to attract Zhu Yuanzhang's hatred.
However, Zhang Shicheng became king as he wished, and Chen Biao intervened in the middle of the process, making Zhang Shicheng and Zhu Yuanzhang sign a short ceasefire agreement, jointly turning their spearheads against the Yuan Dynasty.
Zhang Chang really wanted to kill this child named Chen Biao with his own hands.
"I wonder where his master came from." Zhang Chang muttered as he read the letter. "Why would his master stir up chaos and cause the people to suffer?"
What was the chaotic world like at the end of the Song Dynasty? Didn’t those people read about it in history books?
Only a stable dynasty and a peaceful environment can allow the people to rest and recuperate. In order to show off their talents, these people stirred up chaos and led to a struggle for supremacy.
The heroes are fighting for supremacy, but why should the common people be pitied?!
…
"A-choo." Chen Biao rubbed his nose. "General Liao Yongan should have been released, right?"
Zhu Yuanzhang quickly put a furry shawl on Chen Biao: "That should be it."
Chen Biao threw away the furry shawl: "You're wearing fur at this time of year? You're wearing it in winter? I'll just put on a cotton coat."
Zhu Yuanzhang persevered in putting the furry shawl around Chen Biao's neck: "In winter, you should wear more clothes. Put them on quickly to avoid catching a cold."
Chen Biao tried to escape: "No, no, ouch..."
He bumped into Li Shanchang, who was full of anger, and was helped up by Li Shanchang.
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw Li Shanchang’s angry face, he immediately became panicked and turned around and ran away.
Li Shanchang followed after him, holding up the corner of his robe: "Come back here! Go back to work!"
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly conquered a lot of territories. Li Shanchang traveled a lot on business and returned to Yingtian after personally compiling statistics on the conditions in various places.
When he came back, he found that Zhu Yuanzhang had piled all the official business in a cabinet with a note posted on it that read, "Personally from Li Baishi."
Li Shanchang's eyes almost popped out.
When did his hardworking lord become so lazy?! The whole world hasn't even been conquered yet, and already his lord has thrown away his virtue of being diligent?
How outrageous!
Li Shanchang was so angry that he was fuming. If he had not been afraid of scaring Chen Biao, he would have raised his several-meter-long sword and performed a lord-killing act in the street!
Zhu Yuanzhang felt guilty.
Chen Biao had been trapped in Hongdu Prefecture, and he had been frightened for so long. Finally, the father and son were reunited, and Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to enjoy the warmth and family happiness of father and son for a while.
As for official business, he had already dealt with the urgent ones. These were not very urgent and could be completed by Li Shanchang if he stayed up a few more nights when he returned.
I, Zhu Yuanzhang, am not lazy!
Run away first!
Chen Biao tilted his head: "Dad, what's wrong? Why is Mr. Li so angry?"
Li Zhen picked up Chen Biao and said, "Your father pushed the work he should do onto Mr. Li. Biao'er, the wind is strong, go back to your room."
Chen Biao's jaw dropped, a look of disgust on his face: "Ah? How could Dad do this?"
He put his hands to his mouth and made trumpet shapes: "Dad! Don't run away! If you have the guts to push the work to Mr. Li, you have the guts to take Mr. Li's beating!"
Zhu Yuanzhang ran away, shouting, "Bad boy! I'll come over and kick your ass!"
Chen Biao laughed.
Li Shanchang was originally full of anger, but after listening to the conversation between Chen Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang, his anger subsided and he couldn't help laughing out loud.
But the lord still has to be brought back to work overtime. We can't condone the lord's bad habit of pushing work onto others!
Li Shanchang dragged Zhu Yuanzhang away, and Zhu Yuanzhang failed to kick Chen Biao's butt.
After Zhu Yuanzhang left, he was unable to return home for several days.
Chen Biao had become accustomed to Zhu Yuanzhang's busy life. Moreover, he had recently become somewhat annoyed with his childish father who quarreled with his younger brothers at home every day, and did not miss Zhu Yuanzhang.
He stayed at home peacefully, arranging to expand the printing workshop while teaching his younger brother.
When Chen Biao saw that his mother had taken out some children's things from home again, he felt a pang in his heart, but he still gave his mother a box of picture books and toys newly made by the craftsmen at home.
"Have them properly taught. I don't want to clean up their mess." Chen Biao said with a sullen face, "Mom, keep an eye on them. If they become arrogant after being taught by the servants, you can bring them home I will teach them."
Chen Biao has accepted his status as the eldest son of a feudal family and the reality that he will be held back by his illegitimate brothers and sisters.
Rather than letting them become a burden or even an enemy, Chen Biao is willing to train them.
Ma Xiuying smiled with relief.
She embraced Chen Biao and said, "You only have one illegitimate sister now. That illegitimate sister needs to be initiated, so I took some things from home. But next year or the year after, you may have more brothers and sisters. By the time they grow up and need your guidance, you will probably be fifteen or sixteen years old."
Chen Biao was puzzled: "Why next year or the year after? Never mind, it doesn't matter. Fifteen or sixteen years old? Mom, are you going to hold me back for that long? No need, I've already accepted the reality."
Ma Xiuying was at a loss for words. "It's not about whether you accept reality or not... Biao'er, even though you've been taking care of your brother since he was born, how could I possibly let you go through so much trouble taking care of another woman's child? When they need some enlightenment, you can teach them. That's just the right thing to do."
Chen Biao felt a little more comfortable. "That's right. But mother, a child's character can be seen from the age of three. I can't spoil these people when they are young, otherwise they will see my methods in the future."
Chen Biao made a very fierce expression.
Ma Xiuying said, "Don't worry, they won't. I have the final say on how to raise the children."
Ma Xiuying is full of confidence.
Because Zhu Yuanzhang divided himself into Zhu Yuanzhang and "Chen Guorui", and the small family became the "Chen family", he had little time to see other women, and when they did, it was just to sleep. Those women didn't even have the chance to compete for his favor, and they lived in fear every day, so how could they dare to be domineering?
Ma Xiuying took care of these sisters wholeheartedly, making them quite dependent on her.
Ma Xiuying even suspected that perhaps her position in the hearts of her sisters was far higher than that of Zhu Yuanzhang. Every time the sisters saw her, they would hold her arms tightly and would not let go, wishing they could stick to her.
When Chen Biao heard what his mother said, he immediately put the matter aside.
We'll talk about it six or seven years from now. Since his mother told him not to worry about it, he doesn't need to hold his nose and feel wronged.
However, Chen Biao is still wondering why his father will have a new child next year or the year after?
Soon he was no longer confused.
In the first month of the lunar year, Chen Biao was still asleep when he was awakened by the sound of firecrackers.
When he heard the cheers of the people around him, he learned that Zhu Yuanzhang had officially proclaimed himself "Ming King" on the first day of the first lunar month, and appointed Li Shanchang and Xu Da as the left and right prime ministers, and appointed hundreds of officials.
Ming Wang? What the hell is this?
Chen Biao was extremely confused.
Li Zhen explained to Chen Biao, "This is an additional condition in the agreement between King Ming and King Wu. My lord, please give up the title of 'King Wu' and don't compete with Zhang Shicheng for it."
Chen Biao scratched the furry little hat on his head.
Did Zhu Yuanzhang first proclaim himself the Ming King and then establish the Ming Dynasty? Well, I have no idea.
But that doesn't matter.
"What kind of official position did my father get?" Chen Biao asked excitedly.
His father's official position affects his future quality of life!
Li Zhen's expression was a little awkward: "Guo Rui...ah, Guo Rui doesn't have an official position."
Chen Biao's excited expression froze on his face. "Huh? My Chen family has risked their lives for our lord, and gone through fire and water, so why doesn't my father have an official position?!"
Li Zhen smoothed things over for Zhu Yuanzhang: "Perhaps Guorui's position is special, so it's difficult to arrange an official position for him. Wait a little longer, Guorui will definitely get an official position."
At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had just taken office as the Ming King, held his chin with both hands and said in a deep voice: "Have you thought about it? What official position should I arrange for myself?"
Li Shanchang was speechless and said, "What do you mean by you? Just the three of us! My Lord, can you please write a letter to ask others to participate in this matter as well?"
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang's confidants were still engaged in various battles or farming. The only insiders in Yingtian who could give Zhu Yuanzhang advice were Li Shanchang, Zhu Sheng, and Ji Renshou.
Li Shanchang didn't want to give advice on Zhu Yuanzhang's personal affairs during his busy schedule!
Zhu Sheng frowned and said, "My Lord, when you were busy preparing to become king, didn't you think of giving yourself an official position?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said embarrassedly, "Isn't it because I'm too busy that I forgot? I went home today and heard Biao'er crying about why I didn't become an official. Well, I just remembered it."
Ji Renshou finally understood why his junior fellow apprentice brother looked so disgusted every time he mentioned this lord.
He originally thought that it was his junior's own fault that his lord was so outstanding.
Now……
Ji Renshou couldn't help but reveal a look of disgust: "My Lord, Biao'er is already a thoughtful person. How can he not think too much when you do this?"
Li Shanchang pressed his hands to his forehead and said, "Alas, Biao'er has to worry about something that will overshadow his master again."
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, "It's okay, it's okay. As long as I don't kill you and Xu Da, Biao'er won't be too scared."
Li Shanchang couldn't help but grit his teeth: "Then I really thank you, my lord."
Zhu Yuanzhang used a silly smile to get away with it: "So what position should I give Chen Guorui? Nowadays, all positions require appearances in public."
The three of them thought about it and sighed.
In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang could only write a letter to Liu Ji asking for help.
This kind of biased strategy is what Liu Ji is best at!
Liu Ji, who was prying open oysters and eating them on the Guangdong beach, threw the shells to the ground fiercely: "Partial plot?! My lord, you call this a plot? What kind of plot is this? This is just to clean up his mess!"
Xu Da laughed so hard that he almost choked on the oyster meat.
Although Liu Ji cursed Zhu Yuanzhang, he still came up with some ideas in the end.
Thus, Chen Guorui transformed himself into the Prince's Grand Tutor. This high position, tied to the Crown Prince, was in line with the Chen family's current status in the eyes of others.
But since no one knows where the Prince of Ming is, Chen Guorui may not show up.
By the way, Zhu Yuanzhang’s son “Zhu Da” has been canonized as the Crown Prince of Ming.
Chen Biao laughed so hard that his belly burst: "Is this the name of the lord's son?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said with a guilty conscience: "I will give my son a formal name when my lord ascends the throne. As the saying goes, humble names are easier to raise. The later you give him a name, the better."
Chen Biao laughed so hard that he fell backwards. "The lord's son is so unlucky! Even if he changes his name in the future, future generations will definitely call him Zhu Da. Hahahaha, he will not only have to carry this stupid name Zhu Da for the rest of his life, but he will have to bear it for eternity. Hahaha!"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked away guiltily: "Well, what bad luck."
At a loss, at a loss.