Chapter 289: Turning to defense to attack

The Yan army withdrew again, more than 100,000 people stopped and retreated ten miles in disappointment.

After several days of pressure and anxiety, coupled with being so angry by Xiao Fan, the burly and strong Zhu Di returned to the camp and remembered his experience today, and vomited two more mouthfuls of blood, and the army was panicked.

"Sir, Jinan is no longer advisable, we must retreat north." Zhu Di said weakly on the soft couch in the handsome tent.

Daoyan was also deeply shocked, and his whole body seemed to have been exhausted. He aged several decades in an instant, and his body seemed to be hunched.

"Prince... let's attack again. Take down Jinan and break through the encirclement set up by Xiao Fan. Our army goes south and takes the capital. No one in the world can stop our army's troops. The throne of the capital is within reach. Prince, try again..."

Assisting Zhu Di to the throne was Daoyan's lifelong goal and belief, but he gave up because of a small tablet. Daoyan was really unwilling to accept it.

Zhu Di smiled miserably and said, "My relatives and elders of the Zhu family who died stood in front of Jinan City. How dare I use swords and weapons?"

"Prince, didn't Xiao Fan carry out Emperor Xizuyu? We made tablets more than him overnight..."

Even Daoyan himself felt guilty and his voice became smaller and smaller as he spoke.

Revolution is not about treating guests to dinner, nor is it about playing poker and landlords in war. The relatives of the Zhu family were all in peace and had no choice but to offend anyone. Why did you get out to compare your seniority? This is too much of a joke.

Zhu Di turned his head to look at him, and hummed, "Sir, we have fought with Xiao Fan for several years. Don't you understand Xiao Fan's character? I absolutely believe that one of the ancestors and elders of the 18th generation of the Zhu family ancestors must have been made into tablets by him. I'm waiting for us to kowtow to him. Besides, what if the tablets we made were bigger than him? After two consecutive days without fighting, the morale of our Yan army has plummeted. How could we attack Jinan City? Two days later, reinforcements from the three imperial court governments will arrive in Jinan. If we don't retreat, our Yan army will be defeated by them."

Daoyan remained silent, two lines of turbid tears rolled in his eyes, and finally slid down his face, silent sadness and despair filled the handsome tent.

Faith collapses, how happy life is.

"Prince, this is not a crime of war, not a crime of war!" Daoyan cried bitterly: "...In terms of wisdom, combat power, the right time, place and people, we are no worse than Xiao Fan. We have calculated it thousands of times. The only thing we didn't calculate is that Xiao Fan's evil deed is so shameless. I can't beat him even if I fight for my life... Alas, Alas!"

Zhu Di's eyes also turned red. He held back tears and patted Daoyan's shoulder to comfort him: "Shamelessness is a talent and cannot be learned. Sir, let's accept our orders and order the three armies to retreat north. We will defend the north to make a plan for the future."

In July of the first year of Jianwen, the siege of Jinan City was lifted without fighting, and the Yan army retreated across the board. In order to shrink its troops, all the cities in Shandong were abandoned, and the army withdrew back to Zhending Prefecture.

Two days after the Yan army retreated, Zhangde, Daming and Dongchang reinforcements, a total of more than 200,000 troops, arrived in Jinan under the leadership of Ping'an, the vanguard of Ping'an. General Xiao Fan immediately ordered the uniting of troops, plus the 70,000 defenders in Jinan City, to form a 300,000 army and pursued northwards.

In mid-July, Dezhou, Shandong was recaptured by the court.

In late July, Shunde Prefecture was recovered.

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Within a month, the court recovered more than ten lost cities and pressed towards the Yan army in the north step by step.

The eight hundred-mile fast cavalry generals passed the news of the victory to the imperial court. At the instruction of Xiao Fan, the soldiers who reported the victory held high the fire lacquer military newspapers and rushed from north to south. Along the way, passing by towns, the soldiers shouted loudly, "The court recovered the lost territory, and the rebels retreated step by step."

The people's hearts, which were disturbed by Zhu Di's rebellion, gradually calmed down with these victories.

At this point, the shadow of the defeat of the imperial court in Baigouhe was slowly fading in people's hearts. Everyone knew that with the tide turned by General Xiao Fan, the situation gradually reversed, and the imperial court's battle to suppress the rebellion changed from a defensive to an offensive again.

The fertile soil in the north is surging again.

The good news came to the capital, and the civil and military officials in the court were very happy. Zhu Yunwen was surprised and issued several imperial edicts to praise him. At this moment of victory, there were many praises in the court. No one would ignorantly mention the past of Xiao Fan's defeat in Baigouhe.

Zhu Yunwen was so happy that he couldn't control himself. The second day after the victory was passed on the court, in the morning court, Zhu Yunwen, who was a little obsessed with the will, immediately proposed to reward the soldiers who had made contributions in front, especially Xiao Fan.

Now Xiao Fan is the general of the rebellion, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops, and the troops in the world are allowed to be dispatched and sent. This official has reached the extreme and cannot be promoted anymore. But Zhu Yunwen, who was excited, always felt that he should reward Xiao Fan to express his gratitude and gratitude. Since Guan'er cannot be promoted again, it is okay to give him a title?

Therefore, Zhu Yunwen proposed to increase Xiao Fan's title in the morning court, and proposed to promote Xiao Fan's first-class Chengyi Hou to Duke Cheng, enjoy the title of Taimiao, and grant him the Left Pillar Kingdom, and specially promoted Ronglu Dafu, with a annual salary of 4,000 stones, and his descendants were hereditary. Several wives in Xiao Fan's family, except for the two princesses of Huamei and Jiangdu, could not be promoted again, and Chen Ying'er and Zhang Hongqiao were promoted from third-rank imperial ladies to first-rank imperial ladies.

The battle between the two countries has not ended yet, and the glorious and favor of the Xiao family has reached its peak.

In the uproar of civil and military officials in the court, the left censor of the Inspectorate, Bao Zhao, immediately stood out of the court and expressed his strong opposition.

After Zhu Yuanzhang established the country, in order to prevent his ministers from abusing power and being proud of his merits, he left a last order in the "Instructions of the Emperor's Ancestors of the Emperor" and stipulated that the emperor should be cautious in the future, and the highest title should not exceed the count. When the Ming Dynasty founded, there were so many famous generals and meritorious officials of the world, and they made so many contributions to Zhu Yuanzhang. Only Li Shanchang, Xu Da, Chang Yuchun's son Chang Mao, Li Wenzhong, Feng Sheng, and Deng Yuyu were only six people. Even the legendary figure Liu Ji, Liu Bowen, who saved Zhu Yuanzhang's life several times and played a decisive role in Zhu Yuanzhang's decisive world, was only granted a sincerity Bo after the founding of the country. This shows how stingy he had won the title of title in the Ming Dynasty.

Logically, Xiao Fan, the Marquis of Chengyi, was promoted to the title of the emperor. The royal family married two princesses to him. Although it was too much to be named a marquis, the ministers in the court were a little confused because of the faces of the royal family and the two princesses, they turned a blind eye to him.

Now Xiao Fan has only won a battle and recovered several lost territories. The emperor actually regarded the title as a junk that costs money, and added so much to him. He was only in his twenties and was named Duke. How could this sect the old ministers of Hongwu in the court be in trouble?

The court was in full swing, and now all the ministers of the station team stopped doing it. They stood up in unison to express their strong opposition. Even the traitors led by Xiao Fan smacked their lips sorely, standing there without saying a word.

The emperor is young and this is done too outrageously. Our old ministers in the court cannot accompany him to go crazy. If you win a battle, you want to be promoted to Duke. Just dream! Even if you try your best, you will ruin this matter.

Whether it is Qingliu, traitor, after the meritorious service, or fence-leading neutral faction, Xiao Fan had a surprisingly consistent attitude towards being a Duke of the Kingdom, and he expressed his firm opposition. He could not make a name for himself. Otherwise, the prince of our Ming Dynasty would not have been rotten like a cabbage in the future? Who would still care about this broken title in the future?

The opposition that almost overturned the roof of the Golden Palace poured a bucket of cold water on Zhu Yunwen's head, and the joy of the victory of the imperial royal army disappeared without a trace.

Zhu Yunwen was also angry. Xiao Shidu was killed in front of him, recovered more than a dozen cities, and the battle situation had also changed from defense to offense. The rebels were forced to retreat step by step. You are all blind people who could not see such great contributions? Isn’t it better to be a Duke?

It was reasonable to argue, but Zhu Yunwen only had one mouth, how could he fight for more than one hundred mouths in the Golden Palace? In the end, Zhu Yunwen slapped the table. Under his strong insistence, both the emperor and the ministers made concessions. He conferred Xiao Fan on the left-handed state. It was acceptable to be promoted to the Ronglu Duke, but the Duke was exempted from the negotiation and wanted to confer a young boy in his twenties as Duke, unless you, Zhu Yunwen, stepped over our bodies.

The two sides compromised and the morning court parted unhappy.

Zhu Yunwen was so angry that he had no place to send a message. When he returned to the palace, he sighed secretly. Xiao Shidu’s popularity in the court... Tsk tsk, did he ruin all the daughters of civil and military ministers in the court? Why can’t so many people get along with him?

This question is puzzled.

After the morning court was over, Ji Gang, the new deputy commander of the Jinyiwei, had already learned about the dispute in the court. He heard that the emperor was very angry by the civil and military officials of the court because of Xiao Fan's title. Ji Gang's eyes turned and his plans came to his mind.

In the afternoon, the calm and unpredictable government in the capital caused huge waves.

The Jinyiwei Captain, who was like a wolf and a tiger, was dispatched to start the capital.

The left censor of the Inspectorate, Bao Zhao, the right censor of the Censor of the Ministry of Rites, Liu Zhengqing, the ward of the Qing official department of the Ministry of Rites, and Cheng Yuan, the Imperial Supervisor, were arrested and taken to the Jinyiwei Prison, and the charge of "secret communication with the vassal king".

When Zhu Yunwen heard the news, his anger had not subsided. After knowing that Ji Gang's misconduct had just snorted coldly and didn't say much.

Ji Gang was overjoyed when he learned the emperor's attitude, and was strict and quick, and fought quickly. That night, the imperial prison received numerous "crimes" from four ministers. Zhu Yunwen wrote a big pen and the four were dismissed from office as the people and exiled to Qiongnan.

On the second day, the new Zuodu Censor of the Inspectorate took office. The man was named Jing Qing and had a very deep friendship with Ji Gang.

After mastering the Jinyiwei and the Inspectorate, Ji Gang's arrogance gradually became arrogant, and the Jinyiwei's atmosphere gradually became cruel and incorruptible. He was no longer the polite civilized law enforcement unit under Xiao Fan's rule.

The civil and military officials in the court dared to be angry but not speak out, and the air in the capital suddenly became tense.

In the backyard of the Fushiya Office of Jinyiwei Town, Yuan Zhong, a thousand households, let go of his hands, a white carrier pigeon soared into the sky, flapping his wings and flew towards the north...

Shunde Prefecture Yamen.

"Yuan Zhongfei Ge secretly reported that he was gradually unable to control the Jinyiwei in the capital.... Ji Gang is in power." Xiao Fan's tone was low, with a hint of anger.

"Ji Gang? That big silly Shandong man? Last year's martial arts pick?" Cao Yi frowned.

Xiao Fan nodded: "Yes, it's him, Ji Gang, who once worshipped under my school and was willing to lick his shoes. He has been named the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei by the emperor, and has framed several ministers to imprisonment, secretly cultivated his confidants and committed crimes, relied on the emperor's favor and did evil, and eliminated dissidents and arranged accomplices. The court has been disrupted by him."

Cao Yi was furious: "Bitches are raised! There are no tigers in the mountains, monkeys dominate the king. We are fighting bloodily in front of us. This dog-good guy actually ignites in the backyard. Is Ji Gang tired of living?"

"A person's ambition is inflated. As long as he can climb up, he can do anything. It is a great opportunity for him to take advantage of my absence in the capital. Those who don't do this are fools."

A murderous intent flashed across Cao Yi's face and said evilly: "I'll take people back to the capital and find an excuse to do it! Everyone is from the Jinyiwei, so it's not easy to make a crime. If he can frame others, I can also frame him. Just say that he planned to rebel and raped a sow..."

"No, Ji Gang is a man with deep scheming. You can't fight him or kill him. What's more, he has saved the emperor's life, and he is very favored by the emperor. It may not be that easy to frame him..." Xiao Fan immediately shook his head and rejected it.

"What should we do? Let him eat our foundation one by one? After the rebellion is quenched, he may have taken over your position and undermined your power. We will be miserable then."

Xiao Fan sighed and said, "I was still careless. If I had known this, I should have taken him to the war with me at that time, so as not to cause trouble for us..."

Cao Yi sneered: "The disaster is a disaster everywhere. Are you not afraid that he will collude with Yan Ni?"

Xiao Fan shook his head flatly: "It is impossible. He can't jump under my nose. He doesn't like him anymore. He sent someone to throw a bomb in his bed in the middle of the night. He finished it all and was straightforward. When he reported to the court, he said that he had privately engaged in side jobs to rob the tombs after fighting. He put too much gunpowder and killed himself..."

Cao Yi's eyes were straight: "You...you won't suddenly dislike me one day, right?"

"Are you interested in tomb robbers?"

"Absolutely not!"

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"It's thousands of miles away, and I can't take action to deal with Ji Gang. Let's wait and see for now. Brother Cao sent a secret message to the generals in Beijing, including Ru Shangshu, Jie Xueshu, Yu Shangshu, Shilang Qi and other adults. They were all honest and low-key during this period. Let Ji Gang go and send him a chance to stop being unlucky. Wait until I return to Beijing to deal with him."

"good."

"Our top priority is to pacify Yan Ni as soon as possible and return to Beijing as soon as possible."

In mid-August, the imperial court's army entered Dingfu.

Xiao Fan secretly trained for more than a year and sent it out like casting a net, playing an extremely important role in the war. They lurked into various camps of the Yan army with five people, attacked the enemy, burned grain, poisoned them, and even assassinated hundreds of Yan families and thousands of generals. Finally, they threw the new bombs prepared by Xiao Fan around the Yan camp, causing chaos in the Yan army camp and everyone was panicked.

There is no theory of special operations in this era. Xiao Fan's move caused a lot of trouble for the Yan army. The ghostly special forces soldiers became a nightmare for the Yan army soldiers, as if they would jump out of some incredible dark corner at any time. For a moment, everyone in the Yan army camp was in danger, and they were in panic all day long, and their morale was extremely low.

In this terrifying atmosphere, on August 19th, Xiao Fan ordered an advance and started a head-on confrontation with the Yan army outside Zhending Mansion.

The soldiers of the Yan army, with low morale, did not maintain their combat effectiveness. In this battle, the murdered, missing, and fled, totaled tens of thousands of people. Zhu Neng, the vanguard of the Yan army, died in a bloody battle. Zhu Di fled north in panic to Baoding Prefecture. After gathering the defeated army, the total strength of the Yan army was less than 100,000.

Another great victory, and it was a great victory on the front battlefield. The morale of the imperial army was high, and the 800-mile fast cavalry that reported the victory rushed into the capital.

The king's army recovered Zhending Mansion, and Yu Zhending opened the defense line fifty miles north of the north. Xiao Fan fought very carefully this time, and it can be said that he was taking action step by step. The most important thing is that... the flagpole of the Shuaiqi has really been changed to a fine iron, and the tornado is blowing continuously.

After recapturing Zhending, Xiao Fan's first order was to urgently dispatch the veteran Geng Bingwen, who was stationed in Zhangde, and ordered him to quickly rush to Zhending Prefecture to defend the city, while he led his army to continue northward.

After the battle of offensive and defensive in Jinan and head-on confrontation with Zhending Prefecture, the Yan army has gradually shown its defeat. This is a good time to chase the remaining brave men. Of course, Xiao Fan cannot let it go.

In early September, 300,000 troops advanced to Baoding, and the battles in the north were covered with clouds and murderous auras were everywhere.

Xiao Fan and Zhu Di both understood that the second head-on battle was coming and Zhu Di could not retreat any longer. Behind Baoding was Zhu Di's old nest, Beiping Prefecture, and the situation could not allow him to retreat any further.

The camp outside Zhending City.

More than ten guards surrounded Xiao Fan, and a group of people strode into a tent guarded by heavy troops.
To be continued...