ebookland Chapter 303 While he possessed all the advantages of favorable timing, location, and human relations
Chapter 303 While he possessed all the advantages of favorable timing, location, and human relations
"It's hard to say, but I think it shouldn't have been someone sent by Zhu Yuanzhang."
Judging from everything that has happened so far, Old Zhu hasn't been that ruthless yet.
Moreover, he had already taken over Hezhou and was very popular with the people.
Even if Guo Zixing hadn't died, Zhu Yuanzhang would still have been able to rebuild an army of 30,000.
"Indeed, given how things have developed, he has no reason to touch Guo Zixing."
Li Er thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
At first, he wondered if his advisors, such as Li Shanchang, would take it upon themselves to eliminate Guo Zixing, this troublesome figure.
But as Zhu Yuanzhang gradually dispelled Guo Zixing's suspicions and regained a degree of autonomy, he conquered Hezhou and restored military discipline.
Whether Guo Zixing lives or dies is no longer of any concern to him.
After all, even if he were alive and still harbored doubts about Zhu, there was no reason to take away his military power in Hezhou.
Otherwise, even if Zhu refused to give it to Guo Zixing, outsiders would no longer think that Zhu was ungrateful, but would think that Guo Zixing was greedy!
In this situation, if Zhu were to take action against Guo Zixing himself, it would definitely do more harm than good for Zhu!
"However, as long as it wasn't Old Zhu who did it, Guo Zixing's death isn't a bad thing. At least we can take back Chuzhou City and those 30,000 troops."
"As for the rest, it depends on whether Han Song's Xiao Ming Wang Cong is smart or not, and how much patience Old Zhu has left with the Guo family."
Anyone with eyes can see that Zhu's rise is now underway.
At this point, it's unrealistic to try to support someone to check or balance things out.
Firstly, due to Zhu Yuanzhang's decision to go south, the only way Han Lin'er could restrain him was to issue an edict intimidating him as the Little Ming King.
As is well known, decrees can only make people obey when they have sufficient deterrent power.
Once others feel that you are incapable of taking action and can only threaten verbally, then this imperial edict is no different from a piece of toilet paper.
As for the art of balancing, without sufficient strength to match it, it can only become a childish joke.
If Han Lin'er, the Little Ming King of Han Song, were smart enough, he should have bestowed Guo Zixing's marshal position, along with all of Guo's small inheritance, upon Zhu Yuanzhang, thus helping him to firmly establish himself in the Red Turban Army.
In this way, even if it cannot truly win over Old Zhu, at least it can still save face when the interests of both sides conflict in the future.
Given Zhu's sentimental nature, he would most likely be willing to reciprocate without causing too much impact.
No matter how you look at it, for Han Lin'er, abandoning those incompetent members of the Guo family and instead betting on Old Zhu was the wisest and only brilliant move.
Unfortunately, Han Lin'er, or rather Liu Futong, doesn't seem to be a particularly intelligent person.
He seemed unable to see Guo Zixing's pettiness and incompetence, nor could he see the illustrious military achievements of Zhu De and the popular support of the soldiers.
After Guo Zixing's death, it seemed that Han Lin'er, the Little Ming King, did not see Zhu Yuanzhang's many outstanding achievements.
At Liu Futong's suggestion, he appointed Guo Zixing's son, Guo Tianxu, as Grand Marshal and his brother-in-law, Zhang Tianyou, as Right Deputy Marshal.
On the contrary, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had made countless efforts for today, was only appointed as the Left Deputy Marshal!
In name only, both Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou are superior to Lao Zhu.
The problem is that in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, these two were utterly useless good-for-nothings.
Even these two people could trample on him, and he began to feel unwilling to be controlled by others any longer.
Fortunately, although these two men held extremely high positions, they did not wield any real power in Chuzhou City or Hezhou.
Ultimately, it's because these two cities were conquered by Zhu Yuanzhang himself.
The tens of thousands of troops in the city were mostly recruited by Zhu Yuanzhang himself. They did not recognize the imperial edict of the Little Ming King, much less the edicts of Guo Tianxu and his companion!
Nominally, the Grand Marshal was Guo Tianxu, but in reality, the Commander-in-Chief was Zhu Yuanzhang!
Under these circumstances, he was unwilling to be controlled by Han Song any longer, but considering that the Mongol Yuan forces were becoming increasingly powerful in suppressing bandits, and that Han Song was also equally formidable.
After a brief period of deliberation, Zhu Yuanzhang made a decision.
He also needed to leverage the power of the Han and Song dynasties to attract the attention of the Mongol Yuan dynasty and buy himself time to develop.
"It has to be said that this passage alone shows a stark contrast between Old Zhu's abilities and Han Lin'er's."
The difference between heaven and earth is no exaggeration!
"Comparing the two of them is, in my opinion, somewhat insulting to Old Zhu."
"Leaving aside other things, if Old Zhu had Han Lin'er's background and the power she was born with..."
"At least he won't become Liu Futong's puppet."
"No, if Zhu Yuanzhang had even half of that ability, the time it took to expel the Tartars and recover the Central Plains would have been pushed back by more than ten years!"
"The vast difference in their abilities, and the disparity in their status, is precisely what makes Old Zhu's life even more legendary, isn't it?"
Almost no one finds fault with any of Lao Zhu's decisions.
Or rather, they couldn't find fault with it.
At first, when he so easily handed over Chuzhou City and 30,000 troops to Guo Zixing, many people did feel that he had done something wrong.
But now it seems that if we hadn't done that, we wouldn't have had that unparalleled reputation for benevolence and righteousness, and so many people wouldn't have come to visit us!
"I think I understand now. While he has the right timing, the right place, and the right people, he also needs both ability and luck."
Ying Zheng probably figured it out.
Why was Zhu Yuanzhang able to become emperor despite his humble origins as a commoner and beggar?
It's definitely not something that can be summed up simply by saying you were lucky!
During the reign of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang spent three years begging for alms and traveling to various major prefectures in Huaixi. He became very familiar with the terrain of most of the prefectures, which was Zhu Yuanzhang's geographical advantage.
As for the people, they were also obtained by his own hands!
After joining Guo Zixing's cause, whether it was recruiting local militia or conquering Chuzhou and Hezhou, as well as tens of thousands of troops, Guo Zixing would offer them all without hesitation.
Not to mention that after joining the Red Turban Army, he repeatedly took the lead in saving Guo Zixing's life.
In addition, during the repeated battles against the Mongol cavalry, Zhu Yuanzhang always took the lead, always charging at the forefront of the battle, and he also came up with many ingenious strategies to repel the enemy.
When there was no war, he also did his best to maintain military discipline, and the people under his jurisdiction were no longer harassed by soldiers.
He has lost the support of both the military and the people; who else has the right to do so?
"He earned all of this through his own efforts, and at that time, he didn't really have such great ambitions."
"Even so, he knows how to restrain his subordinates and prevent them from harassing the people. Just for this quality alone, I think he is more suitable to be emperor than most people in this world!"
"Not to mention that he was once just a beggar and a monk, yet he is so skilled in military strategy and tactics. Who can compare to such talent?"