Chapter 101: Factions
Chapter 101: Factions
Yu Tongyuan has a kind face. He must have great skills and courage to have achieved what he has today in the Ming Dynasty, where many outstanding people are.
But no matter what he is, he is Lu Yun's enemy at this moment, an enemy in terms of position.
This kind of enemy is more terrifying than any other enemy because there is no room for maneuver.
Yu Tongyuan and Lu Yunyi walked to one side.
As Lu Yunyi expected,
He did not mention the Qingzhou Guard at all, but asked directly:
"General Lu, this time we are going to use the fake to confuse the real, I wonder if you can help us and allow our troops to gain more military merits?"
The difference in status between the two was like heaven and earth. Yu Tongyuan did not hide it and did not pretend to be nice.
After a pause, he said again:
"After the mission is accomplished, I will definitely reward you generously.
Although General Lu made great contributions in one fell swoop, the general repeatedly expressed his admiration for him.
But you don’t know that the general has made many enemies in the court. If I can escort you, I will surely help you ascend to a high position.
By the way, my second brother is the Marquis of Nan'an, and my eldest brother is the late Duke of Guo."
Lu Yunyi showed a hint of shock at the right moment. Yu Tongyuan was very satisfied with his expression and continued:
My brother has a granddaughter, who is eighteen years old.
If General Lu is interested, our two families can get married and become relatives."
Time was a bit tight, and Yu Tongyuan spoke very quickly. The string of benefits made Lu Yunyi slightly stunned.
If he were an ordinary general, it would be almost certain that a man would die for his friend.
But since the strategy had already been decided, Lu Yunyi said in a deep voice without hesitation:
"General Yu, please forgive me.
How to deploy the 20,000 soldiers is up to the general, and I am only a commander, so I cannot interfere."
Yu Tongyuan frowned slightly, his eyes were cold:
"General Lu, could you please tell me where the Northern Yuan king's tent is? If my army can achieve meritorious service through this, I will certainly be grateful to you."
Lu Yunyi smiled bitterly and said, "General Yu, I am a discarded child in the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
I have requested to see the two princes many times but was rejected every time. I don’t even know where the royal tent is.”
Yu Tongyuan's temper suddenly turned cold, and his breathing quickened. Judging from the swaying of his eyes, he must be suppressing his anger.
After a few breaths, Yu Tongyuan nodded lightly, and left without saying anything else.
This made many of Lu Yunyi's preparations in advance go to waste, and he became even more fearful.
When Yu Tongyuan returned to the gathering place, some people in armor immediately surrounded him.
"Well, sir, is he willing to help?" a burly man wearing the armor of a lieutenant general asked excitedly.
Yu Tongyuan shook his head:
"He didn't say anything. He must have been instructed. Maybe he knew something."
As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of the people present all turned extremely ugly, and the palms holding the long swords kept rubbing, with murderous intent.
To cut off a person's financial resources is like killing his parents; to cut off a person's career is like cutting off his life.
These high-ranking and powerful people in the army all turned their eyes to the calm Lu Yunyi.
They also saw a bright smiling face.
They saw this as a provocation and became furious.
The lieutenant snorted coldly and was about to take steps to settle accounts with Lu Yunyi, but was stopped by Yu Tongyuan:
"Calm down. Since he won't say anything, we can start from somewhere else."
Some people looked over, and one of the handsome generals pondered and said:
"Your Excellency, are you talking about Wu Fuliu?"
Yu Tongyuan nodded and said, "Not only that, ask the soldiers under his command one by one. I don't believe that they don't want to be officials.
Xu Ming, you go and do this, and do it quickly."
The handsome official named Xu Ming looked serious, said "yes", and left quickly.
At this time, Lu Yunyi was being pulled aside by Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi for questioning.
Lu Yunyi told Wang Bi everything he had just said, causing him to nod repeatedly.
"You did a good job. Don't get involved with them easily. It will do you no good."
Wang Bi said something for no reason that made Lu Yunyi a little confused.
Wang Bi did not hide it and said in a deep voice:
"Yu Tongyuan's family was originally a prominent family of the Yuan Dynasty. They led the navy to surrender.
He was highly regarded by Your Majesty and won the first merit in the expedition against Chen Youliang.
Even now, there are many former members of the Yu family in the Southeast Navy, and they are not on the same page with us peasants."
Lu Yunyi nodded suddenly. It would be better to hear the personal accounts of those who experienced some things than to guess based on historical materials.
At least now the army is under the same dynasty,
But it is more subdivided and complicated.
Upon learning this, Lu Yunyi was very grateful to his superior. At least what he said was true and he was willing to help young people.
After thinking for a while, Lu Yunyi bowed and said:
"Thank you Lord Dingyuan for your advice. I will keep it in mind."
Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi's dark faces huddled together and patted his shoulder vigorously:
"You are good at fighting and know your limits, which is good.
Don't worry, with us old guys here, you won't be bullied."
At this time, Lan Yu, wearing a general's armor, hurried over with some military documents in his hand.
He ignored everyone and looked at the more than 20,000 soldiers who were changing their armor. He frowned and gave a cold order:
"Tell the soldiers and civilians to hurry up, they are dragging their feet."
He turned around to look at everyone present and walked straight towards the direction where Lu Yunyi and Wang Bi were.
The two of them looked respectful and hurried to greet him.
Lan Yu took the documents, handed one of the letters to Lu Yunyi, and asked:
"Scouts reported that the Northern Yuan Dynasty troops stopped to rest. I think something is wrong. Come and take a look."
Lu Yunyi looked puzzled. He took the letter, quickly took in the information on it, and said decisively:
"General, it is only the rear troops that stopped to rest.
Most of them are civilians and "criminals" of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. The real central and front armies will only stop for a short rest at night."
Lan Yu sneered. After two sleepless days, the area under and outside his eyelids became darker, and his whole body was filled with intense fatigue.
But looking at his spirit, he is still full of energy:
"I said that Usar Khan was as cowardly as a mouse. How dare he stop to rest? It turns out he is an abandoned pawn."
Wang Bi said at this moment: "General, this move has given us an opportunity.
The 20,000 fake troops penetrated deep into the center of the army and attacked Huanglong.
We can send a large army to follow behind and separate the rear army from the center army. In this way, the battle will be won!"
"That's fine. The civilians in the rear army have no swords or armor, but they are numerous and powerful. They are a problem after all. It's better to solve them as soon as possible." Lan Yu nodded slightly, his eyes fixed:
"Wang Bi, listen to my orders."
The dark face of Wang Bi, Marquis of Dingyuan, suddenly became serious. He straightened his back suddenly, his eyes burning.
"I order you to lead 30,000 vanguard troops to follow us. After our soldiers have passed by calmly, lead your troops to cut off their rear troops and kill those who resist."
"Yes!"
Wang Bi gave Lu Yunyi a reassuring look and turned away.
Upon hearing Lan Yu's order, some princes and dukes around came over, waiting for military orders with anticipation on their faces.
Things have come to this point, and a big victory is inevitable.
But who will stop the enemy and who will achieve meritorious service is still uncertain.
Lan Yu's face was calm as he met their expectant eyes and handed over the document in his hand expressionlessly.
"Follow orders, the army will set out in half an hour."
The dukes and marquises took the document and looked at it eagerly. Some were happy while others were sad.
Xiongwu Hou Zhou Wu and Dongchuan Hou Hu Hai, who were given the task of destroying the enemy, were delighted.
The two of them are still inexperienced, and now is the time when they need military merit.
However, Cao Xing, Marquis of Huaiyuan, and Zhao Yong, Marquis of Nanxiong, who were blocking the enemy, were calm.
Nanxiong Marquis Zhao Yong was granted the title of Marquis in the third year of Hongwu. Now he is old.
The reason for participating in the Northern Expedition was that the Caoguo Mansion behind it wanted to participate in it.
In addition, he had a deep understanding of the Northern Yuan court during the battle in Liaodong last year, so he came to participate in the war.
Now that he was leading his troops to stop the enemy, he had no objection.
People like him are already past the age where they need military merits to embellish themselves.
In the 11th year of Hongwu, Cao Xing, Marquis of Huaiyuan, followed Mu Ying, Marquis of Xiping, in pacifying the Western Barbarians and was granted the title of Marquis.
This northern expedition was initiated by the imperial court and General Lan Yu, who remembered their old friendship with Mu Ying.
Otherwise, he would never be able to grab a position among the many princes and dukes in the court.
He was also happy to see the enemy being stopped this time, and he was not greedy.
He was still young, so just participating in it would be considered a qualification. The several dukes who received the military orders left one after another.
Lan Yu looked at Heqing Marquis Zhang Yi again and handed him a military order.
He was Lan Yu's absolute confidant. He followed Lan Yu from the expeditions to Shaanxi and Yunnan and was promoted all the way.
Lan Yu looked at Zhang Yi and Deng Zhen:
"You two will lead 30,000 soldiers and follow behind the vanguard.
After Wang Bi intercepts the enemy's rear army, go straight to the Northern Yuan army and make sure to stop them. How much you gain from this battle depends on you."
"Yes!"
After the two men left, only Lan Yu and his trusted men were left on the field, while Yu Tongyuan's troops were already waiting on the side.
Lan Yu put her hands on her hips, stepped forward with a smile, and said in a loud voice:
"Yu Tongyuan, of these 20,000 fake soldiers, half of them are from your army.
What kind of merit you can achieve depends entirely on your ability. In this way, I have completed the Marquis of Nan'an's request."
Yu Tongyuan bowed quickly, showing gratitude.
Being able to lead troops to launch a surprise attack on the central army as a deputy governor was the limit of what he could achieve.
In order to snatch food from the hands of the princes and dukes, my brother paid a huge price!
"Yu Tongyuan thanks the general for his kindness. If I can achieve merit in a battle, I will definitely not forget the general's kindness."
"Hahaha, whether you can succeed depends on your own ability. Opportunity and merit are both essential. All right, go down and prepare. We'll set off in a quarter of an hour."
"Yes!"
Yu Tongyuan turned around abruptly, his face darkening.
He now only felt a strong pressure coming, forcing him to move forward, and keep moving forward!
After paying so much, he finally got this final push today. He will never give up.
As he walked, he turned his head to look at his confidants around him and instructed:
"Go and see why Xu Ming hasn't come back yet. Does it take so long to confirm the location of a king's tent?!"
At this moment, Xu Ming, who was in a hurry, came back with a serious look on his face. Yu Tongyuan asked with a serious face:
"How's it going? Did you find anything?"
"General, I have asked many soldiers,
All we know is that Usar Khan is in a royal tent with lavender curtains, surrounded by the Crown Prince Tian Baonu and some court ministers.
"it is good!"
Yu Tongyuan suddenly became excited.
He has an army of 10,000 under his command, and with this information, he is sure they can find Usar Khan quickly.
Lu Yunyi, who saw all this, had a deep look in his eyes and guessed what they were going to do.
With a cold snort in his heart, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Lu Yunyi's mouth, and his expression was inexplicable.
Lan Yu stood on one side, issuing military orders one after another.
The number of messengers behind him was decreasing, and the speed at which he issued military orders was also decreasing.
After finally reading the last document in his hand, Lan Yu finally issued all the military orders.
He turned his head to look at Lu Yunyi, with a warm expression on his face, and asked:
"How's it going? Can you still hold on?"
Lu Yunyi nodded quickly and spread out his palm, revealing the dried apricots that he had not yet finished eating:
"Thank you, General, for holding on."
"Haha, you are still young and it is the time for you to grow, but you have to manage the army and waste your energy.
But you are luckier than me, you have a good figure.
Lan Yu sighed, and slowly sat down on the stone at the back:
"When I joined the army, I didn't have enough to eat. After joining the army, I fought all day long, which delayed my health. Otherwise, I could have grown as tall as you."
Lu Yunyi smiled. He is now nearly 1.8 meters tall, and with his young face,
He stood out among the soldiers and was much taller than Lan Yu.
"General, you are joking. The country is newly established and the people are well fed, so they naturally grow taller."
"You are right. As we travel north, I see and hear that those young soldiers are indeed getting taller and taller."
Lu Yunyi was not shy either, and slowly sat down.
The two chatted idly, quietly waiting for the 20,000 or so soldiers in front of them to put on leather armor and scimitars.
When talking about funny things, Lan Yu always laughed out loud, and his voice was full of joy, which was completely different from his usual gloomy tone.
In this regard, Lu Yunyi could only attribute it to the joy of impending victory in the war.
Time passed by little by little, and more and more soldiers were changing into armor. The time for the expedition was getting closer and closer.
At this moment, Lu Yunyi felt an inexplicable rush of urgency in his heart.
I felt more and more upset, and even my breathing became heavier.
The bright sun in the sky made Lan Yu squint his eyes and look sideways:
"Afraid?"
Lu Yunyi shook his head slowly.
"Then what are you doing? When the army arrives, we will destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty in one fell swoop, and the north will be at peace."
After hesitating for a long time, Lu Yunyi took a deep breath, lowered his voice, and said in a deep voice:
"General, what should we do with the princess and the landowner?"
Hearing this, Lan Yu turned around with a smile.
He looked back and forth at Lu Yunyi's face, his eye sockets deep:
"Do you have any idea?"
Lu Yunyi didn't know how to start for a moment. After thinking for a long time, he came up with a seemingly reasonable reason:
"The Princess of the Northern Yuan Dynasty is of high status and holds a special place in the eyes of those grassland criminals.
Especially in this battle we captured so many grassland soldiers,
If you want to be of use to us, why not use the power of the Princess of Beiyuan?"
Lan Yu looked into the distance, at the grassland soldiers who were gathering little by little, and gradually a mocking look appeared on his face. He said lightly:
"You think too simply. These people are all worthless. They survive by relying on a little hope in their hearts.
Now the army is marching north, not only to destroy his body, but also to destroy his soul.
I will trample their dignity under my feet.
Let these barbarians in the northern border see what happens when they invade the Ming Dynasty.
As long as I, Lan Yu, am here, they will never be able to raise their heads!
We can only work honestly and build the Great Wall in the border areas of our Ming Dynasty!
If you were asked to do it, what would you do? "
Lu Yunyi closed his eyes slightly and fell silent. A standard answer had already emerged in his mind.
And what Lan Yu said was exactly what he had been thinking.
General Lan Yu not only wanted to kill people, but also wanted to destroy their hearts, and also wanted them to submit a letter of surrender.
"I am stupid and don't know."
Lan Yu looked at him meaningfully:
"Yu Tongyuan previously sent people to inquire about the location of the king's tent from your subordinates. How did you arrange it?"
Lu Yunyi's face froze, a trace of panic flashed in his eyes, and the hairs on his body stood up.
How come he knew about this too?
Lan Yu snorted coldly: "As a general, if you can't control the affairs of the army, what's the point of fighting a war?"
At this moment, Lu Yunyi's heart was filled with absurdity.
He could not associate the Lan Yu in front of him with the arrogant and domineering Lan Yu.
Today, he exudes shrewdness in every aspect.
Lu Yunyi said softly, his mind sinking slightly:
"I ordered the soldiers to tell them that Usar Khan was in the royal tent with purple curtains,
That is where Queen Quan, wife of Biriktu Khan, is.
Surrounding them are the former followers of Biriktu Khan who escaped from Khorum. They are not numerous, but they are elite enough. "
As a participant in the battle with Lin, Lan Yu showed disdain when he heard the name of his old friend:
"It turned out to be this old woman. In those days, Emperor Huizong of Yuan was bewitched by Hama and promoted Tantric Buddhism and learned the art of sex. He had no intention of governing the country.
So Biriktu Khan found another Goryeo queen.
The two Goryeo queens of the Northern Yuan Dynasty were only as capable as this.
But this time she won’t be able to escape so easily.”
"Tantric Buddhism?"
Lu Yunyi was shocked. It turned out that the root of this grassland sinner was here. He only found out about it today.
"Okay, it's almost time.
You, Arsleng, are going to take us to see the Northern Yuan Khan."
Lan Yu stood up while smiling and brushing the dust off his hands. He looked into the distance at the 20,000 soldiers who were ready to go.
"The matter of the General and the Princess of Beiyuan."
Before he could finish, Lan Yu raised his hand to interrupt:
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore.
She must die. You have to do your job well. If you don't do it well, I will make trouble for you!"
After saying that, Lan Yu held his head armor in his hands and walked towards the main group.
Lu Yunyi stood still, his face changing from gloomy to bright. Finally, he sighed and followed.
(End of this chapter)