Chapter 1312: I Will Never Return Until I Conquer Loulan

For example, why did the general recommend Fu Youde to be the commander-in-chief when Feng Sheng should have been appointed according to seniority? That was because Feng Sheng was a faction himself, but not big enough to suppress the Chang faction like Xu Da did, so that they would obey orders and not dare to act rashly.

For example, why didn't Fu Youde become the general directly? Naturally, they were worried that he would choose confrontation instead of cooperation in order to establish his authority.

And why did they have to let the Sixth Prince be the military supervisor? That was because only Zhu Zhen could suppress Lan Yu...

If Feng Sheng were the commander-in-chief, he would probably not be like Fu Youde, who always put the overall situation first and lived in peace with the Chang faction.

Instead, he would definitely compete for the dominant position and quarrel with the Chang faction, which was known for its aggressiveness, resulting in inconsistent orders and a lack of morale. This is a taboo!

How many armies in history failed or even were annihilated because of the discord between generals and commanders? With Xu Da's wisdom, of course, he had to prevent this from happening.

In fact, in another time and space, when fighting against Nahachu, Xu Da had already died of illness, and Feng Sheng successfully took over as the General of Conquering the Enemy. As a result, he had a very ugly quarrel with Chang Mao and Lan Yu.

Before he returned to the army, he was reported by his subordinates in various ways. Chang Mao was his son-in-law, but he did not show any mercy in reporting him. As a result, Boss Zhu was furious and confiscated Feng Sheng's seal of the general, and ordered him to retire and live in Fengyang. Feng Sheng never led the army again from then on.

But the generals and soldiers did not receive any rewards, which shows that Boss Zhu knew very well that Feng Sheng was impeached because of factional struggle. Although he was indeed not clean, the people who impeached him did not have good intentions.

Knowing this, it is easy to understand why Lan Yu wore the seal of the General of Conquering the Enemy in the expedition to Buirhai the following year.

It is not difficult to understand that there will be the Lan Yu case later...

~~

Zhu Zhen had the same considerations as his father, so he let Fu Youde accompany him in the rear and sent all the people of Lan Yu to the front line, so that they could exert their maximum combat effectiveness without any scruples.

Although this would make the Chang faction's mountaintop more and more inflated, even if they wanted to kill the rabbit after the dog died, they had to wait until the Northern Yuan Dynasty was destroyed, right?

So it was normal that Ping An was not on the list of the Northern Expedition generals.

Zhu Zhen broke it down and finally made Ping An understand the reason why he was not selected, but he still pleaded with all his heart: "Your Majesty, please let me go. I won't compete with them for the limelight. I will take my 4,000 cavalry and guarantee that I will do whatever General Lan tells me to do, and I will absolutely obey his orders."

"Alas, why do you have to do this, Brother Baoer?" Zhu Zhen looked at Ping An's stubborn eyes and said with some softness: "Gold will always shine, why do you have to wrong yourself?"

"I don't feel wronged," Ping An's head Shaking like a rattle, he said, "I'm only worried that after this battle, there will be no major wars for decades, and I will never have a chance to prove myself again."

"Well, okay." Zhu Zhen sighed and said, "When Lan Yu comes back, I'll tell him that I'll give you another guard horse."

"Well, well, the prince's great kindness, Ping An will never forget it. I'm the prince's man in life and the prince's dead man in death!" Ping An was moved to tears. He had never met anyone who treated him better than Lao Liu in his life.

"Just don't cause trouble for me." Zhu Zhen smiled helplessly, and encouraged him again, "I've given you a chance, do your best."

"Well, well." Ping An nodded hurriedly.

~~

The next day was the day when the army went north.

As soon as it was light, the military camps outside Qingzhou City sounded the sound of cannons one after another, and the camp gates opened with a bang. 150,000 soldiers led war horses and pack horses and filed out of the camp gates. Then, they formed square formations one after another on the flat grassland, preparing to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

At the hour of Mao, the 150,000 troops had finished lining up. Because each person had three horses, the entire army looked extremely large, as if there were hundreds of thousands of people.

Because they wanted to pretend to be the troops of Nahachu who had moved north, there were not only a large number of surrendered Mongols in the army, but also the soldiers had changed into Mongolian robes, wearing various Mongolian hats on their heads, and even untied their hair buns, all with their hair loose.

But the austere aura of strict military discipline and the awe-inspiring pride brought by their victories in battles could not be concealed.

Zhu Zhen, Zhu Gang, Fu Youde, Lan Yu, Wang Bi, etc., all dressed in military uniforms, stood on the platform for selecting generals.

After three cannon horns sounded, the 150,000 soldiers stood still like green pines, and only the sound of the horses' hooves and snorts remained on the grassland.

Fu Youde then read the imperial edict to the generals loudly:

“… You led the troops deep into the country, boosted the prestige of the country, rushed in the snow, conquered Qingzhou, defeated the enemy with a small force, and defeated Tongliao! Cleared the northern frontier and set up the guards of Daning; swept the enemy and trapped them at the foot of Qingyun Mountain! Used both kindness and force, and surrendered without fighting. The various tribes were pacified and surrendered from all directions! The generals and soldiers have worked hard. If I want to reward them with wine, it is far from enough. I am here to reward them with my heart and encourage them!

“However, the remnants of the Hulu have not been completely wiped out, and they will eventually become a border threat. It is advisable to take advantage of the weather and lead the army to attack. You should organize the soldiers and horses, double the speed and advance at the same time, directly reach the enemy’s court, overthrow their nest, and do not miss the opportunity to fulfill my expectations! Show your might and success; clearing the desert will be a matter of one move. I have prepared a celebratory wine, and I will wait for the army to return triumphantly, and get drunk with you! This is the order of the day! "

The soldiers didn't really understand, but they understood the emperor's intention, which was to keep fighting him! So they shouted "Long live the emperor" and the voices shook the sky.

Then Fu Youde announced the list of generals and asked the prince to make a brief and powerful mobilization.

In fact, at this point in the war, there was no need for any mobilization, because -

Since Xu Da attacked Yuan Dadu in the first year of Hongwu and Emperor Shundi of Yuan fled north, the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Yuan Dynasty has lasted for a full nineteen years, a generation of time.

If the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty are regarded as one, then from the day of "Don't say that the stone man has one eye, this thing will rebel the world once it appears", the Han people's resistance against the Mongols has lasted for a full thirty-five years, two generations of time!

It's really too long...

Especially the soldiers present, who have been in this war since their fathers. Now they finally waited for an opportunity to put a perfect end to this long war!

All the soldiers in the army are eager to fight for this final victory, so what mobilization is needed?

So Zhu Zhen just said a few simple words and shouted: "Serve the wine!"

The soldiers who stayed behind filled the soldiers with wine for the soldiers. After the expedition soldiers drank it, they followed their commander and marched northward.

I’ve worn out my golden armor through a hundred battles in the yellow sand, and I will never return until I have conquered Loulan!