Father can be an enemy to the country

"The relationship is great, but my father-in-law should be happy. Why did he fall ill?" Zhu Zhen asked strangely.

"Oh, don't mention it..." Zhu Di said depressedly: "My father-in-law has been in poor health in recent years. He has been in the military since he was a teenager, and it is inevitable that he will suffer from injuries. He was able to hold on when he was young, and this time As I get older, all kinds of problems come to me. Besides, this place in Peiping doesn’t support people.”

"My father-in-law told my father-in-law that he should return to Nanjing to live out his old life together, but my father-in-law has always had regrets in his heart, so I asked my father-in-law to give him a few more years before he can disband and return to his hometown after being humiliated in the snowy mountains." He continued: "So as soon as I received this valuable information, my father-in-law was very happy. That night, he and the rest of us excitedly formulated a battle plan, preparing to break the rules and send troops in the first month, so that the army could rush to Gyeongju in February."

"Yes." Zhu Zhen nodded, thinking that his father-in-law was really eager to fight. For thousands of years, the wars between the nomadic peoples of the Central Plains dynasties were turn-based. When the nomads went south to plunder, they would definitely do it in the autumn, and when the Central Plains dynasties went north to attack, they would definitely do it in the spring.

There are many reasons for this. In short, this time of dispatching troops, which has been followed for thousands of years, is absolutely correct to strictly abide by.

Therefore, during every Northern Expedition of the Ming Dynasty, troops would be sent out in February. This time Xu Da arrived early in the first month, and it was still in the rare cold winter, which can be said to be very risky.

However, who would question the general's decision? That's Xu Da...

"The next day, we summoned the civil and military forces in Peiping to make preparations for the war." Zhu Di continued: "The soldiers and horses have not yet used food and grass. The first thing they talked about was military rations. My father-in-law asked Li Yu, the chief envoy of Peking, and Zhao Quande, the inspector-general. Recruit the civilians and transport the military grain reserves to Xifengkou Tunnel for storage, and ask them to issue a military order to ensure that 1.5 million dan will be transported by the year and another 1 million dan in the first month."

"As a result, the two of them panicked when they saw it. They were hesitating and evading, and refused to issue the military order." Zhu Di's tone gradually became serious and said: "My father-in-law knew that there was something wrong with them at the first sight, so he left the two behind after the meeting. After careful interrogation, the two finally admitted that the military rations were poorly maintained and suffered a lot of losses, making it difficult to allocate them in full."

As he spoke, he explained to Zhu Zhen: "I don't know what the situation is like in Yunnan. Anyway, since the establishment of the Third Division in Peiping, the military rations shipped from the south have been under the control of the Chief Secretary. Then the vassal treasury allocates rations to the Dusi on a monthly basis. , in case of war, allocate military rations according to the requirements of the general.”

"It's similar over there." Zhu Zhen touched his nose. The old thief canceled the province and divided the power into three divisions, just to keep them in check. But in other provinces, the military garrison under the capital secretary can produce their own military rations, so they are not so dependent on the chief secretary.

However, in the border defense capitals of Yunnan and Peiping, the harvests in the fields are far from being self-sufficient, and they still need a steady stream of supplies from the mainland. Naturally, it will be restricted by the Chief Secretary.

This is naturally very inconvenient, but this design is obviously to prevent the generals from causing trouble. It's not just because the old thief is suspicious and seriously ill. No matter who becomes the emperor, it will be impossible for the general to control the army and food at the same time. A well-behaved general like Xu Da naturally knew this, so starting from the ninth year of Hongwu, he handed over this matter to the Chief Secretary.

"There have been no major wars in the north in the past few years, and there haven't been any troubles. Who would have thought that this time they would have to dig out their old guns, and their true colors would suddenly be revealed." Zhu Di said bitterly:

"My father-in-law knew something was wrong, so he went to Panku in person that day. Guess what happened? There were four million shi of military rations in the account, but there were less than 2 million shi in the treasury. And half of it was moldy food mixed with sand and weeds. Chen Mi! If you give that kind of food to the soldiers, they will immediately rebel!"

"Is it so exaggerated?" Zhu Zhen said dumbfounded: "You dare to do this under the nose of the general? Isn't it too crazy?"

"But they are so crazy!" Zhu Di sighed and said: "My father-in-law became so furious on the spot that he vomited blood and fainted. After he was carried back, he developed back gangrene. He suffered from pain day and night. His diet gradually decreased, and he was now extremely emaciated. Bedridden."

"Back gangrene..." When Zhu Zhen heard these two words, his face turned pale. This was the disease that killed Xu Dam!

"My royal doctor, as well as the famous doctors in Peking, are all at their wits' end. They say that back gangrene can be divided into male and female. The male can be cured, but the female is hard to save." Zhu Di grabbed Lao Liu's shoulder and said in a deep voice: "Don't you know a lot of magical prescriptions? Are there any that can cure back gangrene?"

"..." Zhu Zhen sighed and said, "I'm not a doctor, I'm just making up blind ideas. If you ask me, I might as well ask Fifth Brother."

"Is Lao Wu so awesome?" Zhu Di was a little surprised. Although an elder brother loves his younger brother, it is easiest to ignore his achievements. "I only heard that he is an expert in treating infectious diseases, but I didn't hear that he can also treat back gangrene."

"Just because you haven't heard about it doesn't mean he doesn't know how to do it." Zhu Zhen said, "Do you know how many operations he has performed at Kunming Military Hospital in the past few years? Do you know the extent of his medical research?"

"To what extent?" Zhu Di opened his mouth wide.

"I don't know how powerful Bian Que Hua Tuo was in history." Zhu Zhen said, "But I believe that Fifth Brother is the Bian Que Hua Tuo of this era."

It's not that Fifth Brother's talent can match that of Bian Que and Hua Tuo, but that his research conditions far exceed those of ancient famous doctors who fought alone. And he helped him cheat. His level was not as good as that of Bian Que more than two thousand years ago or Hua Tuo more than a thousand years ago. That would be outrageous.

"Is he so powerful?!" Zhu Di immediately got excited and shouted, "I'll write to him right now and ask him to come to Peiping as soon as possible!"

"No need, my father has already sent my fifth brother." Zhu Zhen shook his head and said, "It just so happened that he returned to Beijing from Yunnan to see his mother. Now her mother's condition has stabilized, so my father sent him to Peking. He will probably arrive three to five days later than me."

"That's great!" Zhu Di happily hugged the horse's neck and shook it, saying happily: "If Lao Wu is still in Kunming, he will be in trouble this time!"

"That's not true." Zhu Zhen smiled and said seriously: "But don't be too optimistic. When manpower is exhausted, Fifth Brother may not be able to cure it."

"Of course, doctors treat illnesses but not lives." Zhu Di nodded heavily and said, "But there is always hope, right?"

"That's right." Zhu Zhen nodded and smiled: "Especially the treatment of such diseases as gangrene, sores, and carbuncles, which is the specialty of our Yunnan Military Hospital."

"How?" Zhu Di asked.

"In the hot and humid weather in the southwest, there is no chance that people will not get these things when they go there." Zhu Zhen replied.

"Haha, then I will be more confident!" Zhu Di laughed happily and entered Tongzhou City side by side with Zhu Zhen.