Father can be an enemy to the country

Tongzhou has always been the place where grain is transported to Beijing, and all supporting facilities are extremely complete. Therefore, after entering Tongzhou City, there is plenty of place to settle the people, so Zhu Zhen doesn't need to worry about it anymore.

He returned to the General's Mansion, where a large family was still waiting to pick him up.

As soon as he entered the backyard, Zhu Zhen saw Xu Zengshou supporting Xu Da standing at the door of the hall.

He had known that the general was out of danger, but he was still very happy to see Xu Dan standing up again.

"Father-in-law!" Zhu Zhen saluted with clasped fists. However, Xu Da, with the support of Xu Zengshou, wanted to kowtow to him.

"Oh, I can't help it, I can't help it." Zhu Zhen hurriedly stepped forward and supported his old father-in-law. Xu Da suddenly couldn't kneel anymore.

Zhu Zhen only felt that his hands were light and fluttery. The former extremely strong general had lost his strength and became extremely light.

"My lord, your virtuous son-in-law, I don't know how to thank you." Xu Da looked at him with tearful eyes and said, "You saved the Northern Expedition and saved the old man's evening festival!"

"Isn't this what I should do?" Zhu Zhen smiled and helped Xu Da into the house with Xu Zengshou.

The fourth brother who came back two days earlier also smiled and said: "My father-in-law has just been able to get out of bed a few days ago. Today is the first time he has left the house, just to welcome you as a good son-in-law."

"Why do these words sound sour?" Zhu Zhen laughed and said, "Why, didn't my father-in-law call you a good son-in-law?"

"Well, this is your exclusive nickname." The fourth child smiled.

"Father-in-law, please scream quickly and let him balance. My fourth brother also worked hard this time." Zhu Zhen smiled and said to Xu Da.

"Xian...son-in-law..." Xu Da called out awkwardly.

"Look at this reluctance." Zhu Di curled his lips and laughed.

"You brat, don't make me laugh." Xu Da glared at him and said, "My wound is broken, let your wife take care of you."

The whole family sat down at the table laughing, sweeping away the gloom of the previous year.

~~

In fact, Xu Da was still very weak, and he had many taboos. He couldn't drink wine or eat meat. So he only sat down for a while, toasted Zhu Zhen with a glass of wine, asked him to come into the room to talk after dinner, and then went inside first.

Zhu Zhen was also worried, so he didn't drink much. After eating, he went to bed to see his father-in-law.

The smell of medicine is still strong in my bed, but the fishy smell is gone. Xu Da still couldn't sit for a long time, or even lie down, so he could only lie on the pillow and talk to him.

"How is your father-in-law recovering?" Zhu Zhen asked with concern.

"Thanks to my wise son-in-law and His Royal Highness the King of Zhou, my old life has been saved." Xu Da smiled and said, "But a hole the size of a bowl was dug out on my back, and my vitality was still severely damaged. I couldn't even say a few words." Panting, I still can’t sit for too long every day. Alas, there’s no chance of going on an expedition this time…”

As he spoke, he laughed self-deprecatingly and said: "Look, this man is just not satisfied. He wants to go out even though he has saved his life. He really has to go back to Shu to see Shu."

"My father-in-law has been fighting for decades, so he should enjoy peace and happiness." Zhu Zhen said with a smile: "It's the same for you sitting at the back and watching the younger generation kill the enemy."

"Oh, that's all it can do." Xu Da sighed: "I can live to see your younger generation's Northern Expedition, what else can I not be satisfied with?"

"The emperor decides who will go to war on his father-in-law's behalf?" Zhu Zhen asked.

"He asked me to make my own decision." Xu Da said, "The one I recommend is Ying Guogong."

"Oh? Master." Zhu Zhen said with some surprise: "I didn't expect it. In terms of seniority, it should be Song Guogong. Based on the closeness inside and outside, my fourth brother should be the one."

"I also wanted to recommend King Yan, but the emperor asked me to recommend him. He made it clear that he didn't want King Yan to be the general." Xu Da said softly.

"That's right." Zhu Zhen thought for a while, nodded and sighed: "The credit this time is too great, and it is really not suitable for the vassal king."

Over the years, he has understood clearly that although the old thief wants his sons to command the army for the nobles and guard the Ming Dynasty, he does not want them to gain too much prestige in the army.

For example, during the Yunnan campaign, he was just the supervisor, and the general who conquered the south was Fu Youde. Moreover, Zhu Zhen was not yet a military commander, and the old thieves were so cautious. Of course, he had to be even more cautious when it came to his son who was famous for his bravery.

This does not mean that he is guarding against other sons, but that he is avoiding possible conflicts among his sons in the future.

Just imagine, how can a prince who eliminated Bei Yuan and even captured the Bei Yuan Emperor make his emperor feel at ease? Even if the emperor can feel at ease, he himself will not feel at ease.

Therefore, it is better for the vassal to leave the country and develop overseas...

~~

"As for the Duke of Song." Xu Da added: "There is no talk of fighting, but he is a bit selfish and has lax control over his subordinates. I'm afraid that if he takes the lead, there will be many problems."

After a pause, he continued: "So after much consideration, I recommended Ying Guogong to let Lan Yu be his deputy."

"Old Fu is a person who has nothing to say. Although the mountain top is a bit weak, he has also served as a general in the southern expedition and has contributed to the recovery of Yunnan. His qualifications are sufficient." Zhu Zhen nodded and said: "Besides, this battle is full of stars. Don’t worry about having no one available.”

"The problem now is not that there is no one available, but that there are too many monks and too little food." Xu Da said with a bitter smile: "We have been waiting for this opportunity for too long, and no one wants to miss this one. Zheng Guogong, Shen Guogong, and even His Royal Highnesses Jin and Qin have all asked for tassels to participate in the battle. The emperor lets me decide for myself.”

"This is throwing the problem to my father-in-law." Zhu Zhen said with a smile: "My father's hands have become more and more slippery in recent years."

"I tried my best to block those who could. I had no choice but to let them join in those who couldn't." Xu Da said a little depressed.

"It seems that the army is not only about fighting and killing, but also about human relationships and worldly affairs." Zhu Zhen smiled.

"Well said, it hits the mark." Xu Da praised, and then sighed: "But in this case, Fu Youde may not be able to control them."

"Yes." Zhu Zhen nodded.

You have to look at the origin everywhere, and the Ming army is no exception.

The most distinguished in the Ming army are naturally the twenty-four generals of Huaixi who were born in Haozhou and left Haozhou with Boss Zhu to manage Dingyuan. Xu Da, Tang He, the Wu brothers, and the Guo brothers all came from this background.

The next group is those who joined after Boss Zhu left Haozhou and opened a door in Hezhou. Li Shanchang, Chang Yuchun, Feng Guoyong, and Deng Yu all came from this background.

These two groups are considered entrepreneurial teams, and the traditional Huaixi nobles refer to them.

After that, Boss Zhu became bigger and stronger, and those who joined were workers who came here because of his reputation, and they could not be considered as entrepreneurial veterans. Of course, if you bring money to join, or are particularly good at fighting, you can still get a very high position.

But you can't change your disadvantage in the ecological niche.

Fu Youde is in this situation. Although he is also from Huaixi, he is not from Haozhou. Instead, he changed his allegiance several times. He first followed Li Er, then followed Li Xixi to join Liu Futong, and later switched to Chen Youliang.

It was when Zhu Yuanzhang personally attacked Chen Youliang that he took the initiative to surrender with Ding Puluo. Although he can't be considered a surrendered general, it is conceivable that his position in the power pyramid of the Ming army was very low.