My father, Zhu Di, was granted a second life by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Chapter 136 Is Li Jinglong loyal?

"Since your father fought so hard, how did he eventually win?" the old emperor asked suspiciously. "You didn't just make this up, did you?"

Zhu Gaoxi was lost in thought when he was surprised by the old emperor's question, and he quickly organized his words to respond.

The two sides fought fiercely until the afternoon, but the battle remained evenly matched and no victor emerged.

Li Jinglong's troops had a numerical advantage, while Qu Neng and his son led more than 10,000 elite soldiers, who fought fiercely and boosted morale.

The Yan soldiers fought back with all their might, but gradually found themselves at a disadvantage.

At the critical moment when the two sides were locked in a stalemate, a sudden gale arose, with sand and stones flying everywhere, and the sky darkened.

Suddenly, with a "crack," Li Jinglong's general's flag was broken, causing chaos in the command and slowing down the offensive.

Taking advantage of the situation, Zhu Di urgently ordered his elite cavalry to circle around and attack the enemy from behind, and seized the opportunity to order the burning of Li Jinglong's camp.

In an instant, flames shot out and spread rapidly, thick smoke rose, and the fire grew larger and larger.

Li Jinglong's men were at a loss and in complete disarray.

The key to turning the tide of the war was a sudden fire, which seemed bizarre and unbelievable. Zhu Gaoxi pondered how to explain this to the old emperor.

Anyway, that's how it's recorded in history books, and he has no idea what the real situation was.

"Why did you stop talking?"

Due to extreme information asymmetry, the old emperor was always worried that his eldest grandson was deceiving him.

After much thought, I decided to tell the truth. Perhaps the old emperor would interpret this perfectly timed strong wind as a sign that the Prince of Yan was destined for greatness.

"It was just a gust of wind," Zhu Gaoxi answered honestly.

"Did a strong wind help your father win the battle?" the old emperor sneered.

He couldn't help but doubt his eldest grandson's intelligence. Even if he were to lie, he should at least come up with an excuse that wouldn't be so easily detected.

Kamikaze? You're kidding me!

Zhu Gaoxi nodded helplessly. To be honest, he didn't quite believe this claim either.

During the Jingnan Campaign, similar timely opportunities arose more than once, each time allowing Zhu Di to turn danger into safety.

Too many coincidences inevitably reveal a sense of falsehood.

As for the truth, how can it be found out?

What's the point of investigating all this? Anyway, Zhu Di was the ultimate winner, and that's a done deal.

Even if the process needs to be examined, the result is unchangeable.

Seeing his eldest grandson's pitiful and honest appearance, the old emperor, though not believing it, did not press further and began to ponder.

The turn of events was too bizarre; someone must have deliberately let the game slide.

"Tell me, what did your father promise Li Jinglong?" The old emperor pondered for a long time before suddenly asking.

"Grandson doesn't know. All I know is that after Father led his army to the capital, Li Jinglong opened the Jin Chuan Gate to welcome Father into the city."

Li Jinglong's actions made it impossible for others to speak well of him.

Furthermore, why should we speak well of him? He's still a fence-sitter, wavering between two sides.

Zhu Gaoxi lowered his eyes and drank his milk, saying nothing more.

The old emperor needed time to analyze and think.

When Zhu Gaoxi first reviewed the historical materials, he guessed that regardless of their fighting strength, Li Jinglong did not want to fight this battle in his heart.

If Zhu Di were to die in battle, and the imperial family were outraged and demanded severe punishment for the culprit, Emperor Jianwen would most likely succumb to the pressure and send Li Jinglong to take the blame.

"Li Jinglong suffered a defeat, but Emperor Jianwen did not punish him?"

After Zhu Gaoxi drank two cups of milk in succession, the old emperor asked again.

"No punishment was given," Zhu Gaoxi answered succinctly, worried that revealing too much information might anger the old emperor and cause him serious trouble.

Within a few months, Li Jinglong suffered defeat after defeat, losing hundreds of thousands of troops. Emperor Jianwen not only ignored the petitions from Huang Zicheng and others to execute Li Jinglong immediately, but also continued to entrust him with important responsibilities, allowing him to guard Jinchuan Gate. Otherwise, how would Li Jinglong have had the opportunity to open the city gate and surrender to Zhu Di?

Emperor Jianwen's personnel strategy was truly enigmatic and confident, difficult for ordinary people to understand.

"Those who harbor treacherous intentions should be executed without mercy," the old emperor said angrily, slamming his fist on the table.

After recalling Li Jinglong to the capital, Emperor Jianwen only removed him from his post as commander of troops, but did not punish him.

Li Jinglong suffered a crushing defeat, losing hundreds of thousands of troops. This reversed the balance of power between the two sides. Zhu Di seized a large amount of grain and supplies in Dezhou, gaining ample supplies and becoming more capable of a protracted confrontation.

Censors submitted memorials impeaching Li Jinglong, accusing him of "violating discipline, causing the loss of an army, and harboring disloyal intentions." Li Jinglong was condemned to death.

Huang Zicheng, who had strongly recommended Li Jinglong, was filled with remorse and believed that Li Jinglong deserved to die a thousand deaths. He requested that Li Jinglong be punished to atone for his crimes.

However, Emperor Jianwen ignored all of this, and even at this point, he still clung to the hope that Li Jinglong was loyal to him.

Zhu Gaoxi was very curious about how Li Jinglong had persuaded Emperor Jianwen with sweet words.

"Go on," the old emperor said angrily, "tell me in detail. I want to know how Li Jinglong managed to escape in disarray? Wasn't he afraid that Emperor Jianwen would execute him on the spot? How dare he return to the capital? Why didn't he die in battle?!"

If Li Jinglong had the courage to face death, how could he have suffered such a crushing defeat?

Zhu Gaoxi couldn't figure out whose advice Emperor Jianwen had listened to and decided to spare Li Jinglong.

In short, the situation in the court at that time was complex, and not everyone was in favor of Emperor Jianwen's military suppression of the princes.

As far as he knew, at least Xu Zengshou, Wang Ning, the Imperial Son-in-Law, and others were secretly supporting Zhu Di and would definitely seize the opportunity to speak up for him.

Moreover, Dong Lun, the Vice Minister of Rites, suggested fostering good relations with the princes; Yin Changlong once advised Emperor Jianwen to abdicate the throne to the Prince of Yan; Yu Xin, the Minister of Revenue, submitted a memorial opposing the reduction of the princes' power, arguing that they should be treated with favor; and Zhuo Jing, the Vice Minister of Revenue, advocated moving the Prince of Yan to Nanchang to maintain kinship ties.

Not long after Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he turned against his own uncles and began to fight them. Many military generals probably did not agree with this, and their stance was likely more inclined towards the Prince of Yan. This is evidenced by the fact that many military generals surrendered to Zhu Di during the Jingnan Campaign.

After Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he was too impatient. He was eager not only to reduce the power of the princes, but also to raise the status of civil officials and treat them with courtesy, thus changing the policy of emphasizing military over civil affairs that had prevailed during the Hongwu era.

He spent his days discussing important military and national affairs with civil officials such as Fang Xiaoru, Huang Zicheng, and Qi Tai, but neglected the balance between civil and military officials.

"Xi'er, what are you thinking about? Tell me quickly."

The old emperor was determined to know the whole story of the Jingnan Campaign, so Zhu Gaoxi had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue the tale.

Li Jinglong was defeated and fled back to his base in Dezhou.

Although Zhu Di also suffered heavy losses, he had no time to rest and regroup. He gathered his troops and pursued relentlessly, capturing Dezhou in one fell swoop.

Li Jinglong did not dare to resist. Two days before Zhu Di arrived, he had already fled north and rushed to Jinan.

After acquiring a large amount of grain reserves and replenishing their supplies, the Yan army rested briefly in Dezhou before continuing their pursuit. They were unstoppable and invincible, successfully capturing cities along the way and heading straight for Jinan.

At this time, Li Jinglong still had over 100,000 troops remaining. It shouldn't be a problem for him to defend Jinan and hold the city.

However, he was already terrified and had no will to fight. He was completely demoralized and powerless, only concerned with escaping for his life.

The Yan army was at the height of its power, launching a fierce attack. Li Jinglong hastily formed his ranks, but the formation became chaotic and collapsed at the first blow, forcing him to flee in disarray once again.

Immediately, Zhu Di ordered the city of Jinan to be completely surrounded.