Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 162 His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Goes to War (Part 3)
"Your Highness, why are you doing this? Others don't know the details of the Jiannu, but I have been communicating with you every month. Don't you know the details of the Jiannu? If you win this battle, the court will be filled with people criticizing your Highness for being disloyal. If you lose, your position as the crown prince will be in jeopardy! The future great emperor of the Ming Dynasty may die just like this! Your Highness, how can you do this?"
A day or two before the official decree was issued, Xiong Tingbi, as a civil official guarding the frontier, sneaked into the Xinghua Palace in Beijing without any court orders, and roared at Zhu Youdong when he saw him.
Xiong Tingbi had been neighbors with Jianzhou Jurchen for five years, so how could he not know how powerful Jianzhou Jurchen was? But the problem was that Jianzhou had been submissive and submissive over the years, and had deliberately concealed its strength from the Ming Dynasty. As a result, even the two thousand officers and soldiers of Tieling Guard were annihilated. Except for some courageous grassroots generals in Liaodong Town, everyone in the Ming Dynasty felt that Jianzhou was vulnerable . Everyone thought that this was a battle that was sure to win.
So the question is: Why did you, the Crown Prince, want to seize the nominal commandership of this war that could surely win? Did you want to collude with the military to suppress the civil officials? Or did you want to gain greater prestige?
Of these two options, the first one would arouse the collective vigilance of the civil officials, and the second one would make the already bad relationship between him and the prince even worse. In any case, it would be bad for Zhu Youdong.
Moreover, Zhu Youdong would only be treated like this if he won the war. If he lost...
However, Xiong Tingbi, who had been a neighbor of Jianzhou for so many years and had extremely high attainments in military strategy, really believed that this war might not be won.
"Mr. Jiehuan (Yuan Keli's nickname), as the Crown Prince's teacher, why didn't you persuade him about this matter? This is simply a dereliction of duty!"
"Hahaha." Before Yuan Keli could say anything, Zhu Youdong laughed first: "Mr. Xiong is willing to come back and tell us these heartfelt words regardless of his own safety. I am very grateful for your kindness."
"Your Highness!"
"Hey." After gently waving his hand to stop Xiong Tingbi from speaking again, Zhu Youdong said in a deep voice: "It is precisely because of Mr. Xiong's teachings that I know that the Jianzhou Jurchens are actually very powerful. The Ming Dynasty may not be able to win with such a small force this time, so I have to go into battle myself!"
Taking a deep breath, Zhu Youdong said firmly: "I am the grandson of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the crown prince of this country. It is natural that I should devote all my energy to the survival and strength of this country. If I stop because of some rumors, what if I lose this war? Will I not have a headache for the situation in Liaodong in the future? In today's world, powerful countries are rising, and my Ming Dynasty has been established for more than 240 years. It is really stumbling and full of crises. Precisely because Jianzhou is powerful, we must use all our strength to destroy it simply and ruthlessly, as if a lion fights a rabbit. Otherwise, how can I have the time and energy to rectify various problems in the country in the future? As for what Mr. Xiong said, if I lose, my position as crown prince will be unstable, hahahaha, if I lose this battle, I will not be able to return to Beijing alive, who cares about the position of crown prince?"
Yes, as a time traveler, Zhu Youdong thought clearly: Jianzhou has been developing for so many years, and its strength is already very strong. If it cannot be eliminated in one fell swoop this time, then after the situation in Liaodong is deteriorating, even if he ascends the throne later, he can only do a little better than the Emperor Tianqi in the historical plane.
In this plane, other travelers only want Zhu Youdong's life. If they really can't win in the competition, they will just kill themselves. In this way, the people will not suffer and the country will not be overthrown. But the Jianzhou Jurchens want the family and country culture of the entire Ming Dynasty! As a traveler, if you don't even have this awareness when you come to this plane, you are too irresponsible.
Therefore, no matter how many rumors this expedition would bring, he had to face the challenge head-on! If he won, he would remove a cancer from the country. If he lost, he would die to atone for his sins.
"...I understand, your Majesty. In this case, I will return to Kuandian immediately to prepare for war."
"Well, Mr. Xiong, after you return to Kuandian, gather all the troops of Kuandian Guard . I have already sent a letter to Li Guozhu and Yan Siqi. Their fleet has already carried the white-pole soldiers of Henghai Guard, Sichuan Town, and Shizhu Qianhu Suo and headed north."
"I see. I understand. Your Highness's strategy is extremely sound."
"This is Mr. Yuan's strategy, and I am just following it."
A few days after Xiong Tingbi left, the imperial edict appointing Zhu Youdong as the general of the expedition came down . After Zhu Youdong, Yang Hao, Du Song and others received an audience with Emperor Wanli on the platform, Zhu Youdong quickly came to the Ningyuan Earl's Mansion in Beijing.
"Your Highness, Li Chengliang, pays respect to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"Mr. Ningyuan is old, so there is no need to be polite. Please sit down. Please sit down."
"Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness."
"Mr. Ning Yuan, you should know the purpose of my visit this time."
Li Chengliang, who was already 85 years old this year, had already become very wise: "Don't worry, Your Highness. Not to mention that there are so many people in the Li family who have served Your Highness for many years, they will still rely on Your Highness's care in the future. Even in this time of national war, the Li family, as the generals of the Ming Dynasty, will definitely do their best."
"Well... a national war, but Earl Ningyuan, some people said that the Jurchen barbarians did not need such a large army, and they also said that I had ulterior motives for rushing to be the commander-in-chief of this war that could surely win."
"Your Highness, since it is just the noise of swallows and sparrows, why bother to pay attention to it." After expressing his contempt for the recent remarks of some civil officials, Li Chengliang paid homage to Zhu Youdong: "Your Highness, Nurhaci, this evil wolf, was raised by this old minister. At the beginning, this old minister just wanted this wolf cub to grow stronger and help me to guard the front gate of Liaodong. Who knew that this wolf cub has grown so fierce now, while I am too old. What is more worrying is that after Rusong died in the battle, none of the younger generations of my Li family are talented commanders and cannot control this grown wolf king at all. Your Highness, this battle is not a sure win, Your Highness must be careful."
"I am very pleased that Earl Ningyuan can say such words." Zhu Youdong stood up, helped Li Chengliang up, and looked at the old man with a sharp gaze: "So, I need Earl Ningyuan's help."
"I have written personal letters to all my nephews and nephews serving in Liaodong, asking them to fight hard under the command of the Crown Prince and not to care about the casualties of the servants. I told them to just follow the Crown Prince's orders. But if anyone dares to disobey the Crown Prince's orders, I will personally kill these unfilial descendants."
"In that case, I would like to thank Lord Ningyuan very much. Lord Ningyuan, please take good care of your health. From my perspective, Lord Ningyuan may live to be 100 years old."
"I dare not. At my age, I can leave at any time. My Li family will still need the care of the grandson in the future."
"Please rest assured, Lord Ningyuan. If we lose this battle, I will not return to Beijing alive, so there is nothing to say. If we win, the Li family will share the honor and disgrace with me."
"Your Highness, I feel relieved with your words. Please rest assured, Your Highness, the Li family will spare no effort in this war, even if it means sacrificing all its servants!"
After coming out of the Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion, Zhu Youdong felt much better with a sense of relief. Then he asked Wang Chengen to lead his convoy to Ciqing Palace.
"Brother, are you going to lead an army of 400,000 to fight the Jiannu? You are so awesome, brother!"
In this palace with a strange atmosphere, the person who was most enthusiastic towards him was his half-sister Zhu Huijuan.
In the original historical plane, this child died of illness at the age of seven. But now that Zhu Youdong has developed penicillin, how could he let her die young?
Not only is Zhu Huijuan alive and well, but Zhu Changluo's other children, such as Zhu You (Muxue), Zhu Youji, Zhu Huiheng, Zhu Huixuan, and Zhu Huiying, have also changed their fate of dying young. With so many children, plus Zhu Youxiao, who is already six years old, and Zhu Youjian, who was born in February this year, the entire Ciqing Palace is usually like a large kindergarten.
Now, the eldest brother of these children has returned, but what makes Zhu Youdong embarrassed is that only Zhu Huijuan took the initiative to rush over. The other children looked at him timidly, but did not dare to come close to him.
Alas, for this country and for my own destiny, I really gave up a lot.
After chatting and laughing with his eldest sister, Zhu Youdong waved to Zhu Youxiao and said, "Youxiao, come here."
Since Zhu Youdong moved out and lived independently in Xinghua Palace very early, Zhu Youxiao was the real eldest son of the crown prince in Ciqing Palace on weekdays. This kid was usually a devil in the palace, but after seeing Zhu Youdong, he instantly turned into a quail.
"Brother."
"Well, you are six years old this year, right? How is your academic performance? Have you finished studying The Analects?"
"I... am still... reciting the Three Character Classic."
"Uh... that's fine too. Take your time. There's no rush. If you need any help from me, tell me. When I'm not in Beijing, you can ask someone to tell Wei Zhongxian, the head of Xinghua Palace, about it."
"Brother, the Jinling-class battleship model you gave me last time is very beautiful. I took it apart, but I didn't put it all back together. Can you..."
"Hahahaha~~Okay, okay, I will definitely help you with this matter. My Changsha Shipyard now not only has the Jinling class, but also the larger Beizhili class. I will give orders right away and have the people below send you ten sets of all the ship models."
"Thank you, big brother!" Zhu Youxiao, who was timid at first, quickly relaxed: "Big brother, is it easy to fight the Jiannu in Liaodong this time?"
"What do you think?"
"I think it's hard to fight, so I want you to do it. I regret that I'm still young, otherwise I would follow you to Liaodong, capture Nurhaci and give him a good beating!"
"Well, forget it this time. If there is a war on the border in the future, I will definitely take you to the battle, okay?"
"Zhu Youdong!"
Just as the two brothers were rapidly becoming closer and having a great time, a middle-aged man with a grey complexion and grey hair called out to him.
"The child has seen his father."
After the father and son entered a side hall, Zhu Changluo said, "Tell me, why did you come back at this time?"
"Father! I'm about to go off to the battlefield. Before I leave, shouldn't I come and say goodbye to my parents, aunts, brothers and sisters?"
"Hmph! Your Highness, you have accomplished so much in these years! Every day, I, the Crown Prince, hear news about you all the time. How long are you going to keep making trouble? You must know that Prince Fu has completely surrendered. I don't need you to do things like Emperor Xuanzong did when he fought against Prince Han!"
"Father, I have never considered Prince Fu as an opponent. Everything I have done is for this country and this nation!"
"Go, go. Your father is too lazy to listen to your nonsense. You must remember that as a monarch, you must trust your subjects and rule the country with ease. Your words and deeds have hurt too many subjects. If you continue like this, who will be able to help you govern the country in the future?"
After leaving Ciqing Palace, Zhu Youdong looked at the sky helplessly for a while: Alas, those who know me say that I am worried, and those who don’t know me say what I want~~
On November 15, the 39th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1611), Zhu Youdong, Yang Hao, Du Song and others, after another audience with the Emperor, led 3,000 soldiers from the Beijing camp and set out from Beijing, heading straight for Shanhaiguan!
