Zhang Fu was killed, and Zhu Qizhen angrily denounced him for being old and unusable
In August 1449, Zhang Fu presented a note to Zhu Qizhen, suggesting that he avoid Xuanhua and return to Beijing via Bauhinia Pass instead. However, after Zhu Qizhen received the recital, he angrily questioned Zhang Fu, reproaching him for disturbing the morale of the army, intending to imitate Kuang Kun and Wang Zuo to kneel in front of the Chinese army's tent.
Subsequently, Zhang Fu was kicked out of the tent and never dared to say anything again. Even an ordinary soldier could see that Zhu Qizhen's actions were obviously suppressing the meritorious Zhang Fu.
But a few days later, Zhu Qizhen was besieged by Wara in Tumubao, Zhang Fu was concerned about the lord and hurriedly went into battle, but unfortunately was tragically rebellious. So, why did Zhu Qizhen turn a deaf ear to Zhang Fu's advice?
Was his death caused by Zhu Qizhen? Why did this "British duke" who has gone through four dynasties and has both wisdom and courage come to such a tragic end?
When Zhu Di was martyred, Zhang Fu, as the eldest son of the famous general Zhang Yu, went south with his father to participate in the war. Although his father Zhang Yu was posthumously named the Duke of Rongguo, his eldest son Zhang Fu did not inherit the title, and Zhu Di hoped to use this to examine him and prevent him from repeating the mistakes of Li Jinglong and others.
Zhang Fu performed well in the barracks and was highly trusted by Qiu Fu, Zhu Neng and others. He has been recommended to Zhu Di by Zhu Neng many times, but because Zhu Di's foundation is not stable and he has an in-law relationship with Zhang Fu, he has not been reused.
However, Zhang Fu's talent and loyalty were recognized by Zhu Di, who was seen as an important general in the future.
In 1404, Chen Tianping, the grandson of King Annam, secretly arrived in the capital and accused Li Jichen of plotting power and usurping the throne. When Zhu Di learned about it, he immediately sent the general Huang Zhong and the deputy general Xue Yan to lead 5,000 elite soldiers to Annan to quell the rebellion.
However, the jungle camphor wood in Annam caused the Ming army to fall into a heavy siege and suffered heavy losses, and Chen Tianping and Xue Yan were unfortunately killed. In just a few months, Li Jichen defeated the army of Huangzhong and occupied the land of the Ming Dynasty, which made Zhu Di angry.
At that time, Zhu Di was preparing for the Northern Expedition, and the chaos in Annan was like a thorn, deeply rooted in his heart. So, Zhu Di mobilized 800,000 troops and appointed Zhu Neng as the general and Zhang Fu as the deputy general to help the Chen family recapture Annam.
However, Zhu Di's real purpose was not to aid the Chen family, but to annex Annan to prevent future troubles. Unfortunately, Zhu Neng fell ill shortly after entering Annan and eventually died on the battlefield.
After Zhu Neng's death, Zhu Di gave up the plan to withdraw his troops, appointed Zhang Fu as a general, and insisted on continuing the offensive. In the following battle, Zhang Fuzhi was brave and captured hundreds of princes and nobles such as Li Jichen and Li Cang.
After this battle, Zhang Fu was deeply appreciated by Zhu Di. In Zhu Di's "Jing Difficulty", Zhang Yu and Chen Heng died in battle, Zhu Neng died of illness, Qiu Fu was defeated, and no one could compare with Zhang Fu in martial arts.
Therefore, after Zhang Fu returned to the capital, Zhu Di specially named him the Duke of England and promoted him to the right pillar country. Soon, the old minister of Annam rebelled, Mu Sheng, the Duke of Qianguo, was defeated, and Zhang Fu went south again.
During his six years in Annam, Zhang Fu put down three rebellions and completely solved the root cause of the turmoil. And Annan also returned to the embrace of China after 400 years.
Zhang Fu, a father of the Ming Dynasty, followed Zhu Di on the Northern Expedition to the Mongol Yuan in 1422 and was the most warlike general in the Ming army. Whenever there was a war, Zhu Di would always consult Zhang Fu's opinion before giving orders.
In Zhu Di's later years, Zhang Fu pursued Arutai in depth and defeated the Mengyuan tribes, but unfortunately, due to Zhu Di's return to the division, Zhang Fu failed to obtain greater merits. However, Zhang Fu did not become complacent because of this, but became more cautious and cautious.
In addition to being trusted by Zhu Di, Zhu Di's eldest son Zhu Gaochi is also very in awe of Zhang Fu. After Zhu Di died of illness, Zhu Gaochi canonized Zhang Fu as the Taishi and took control of the Governor's Mansion of the Chinese Army, and together with Yang Shiqi, he became the most important court minister in the Zhu Gaochi period.
During Zhu Di's mourning, only Zhang Fu and Yang Shiqi could wear plain clothes to the court, showing their high prestige. Zhu Gaochi once commented on Zhang Fu, saying that he was a military general who knew etiquette, surpassing Liuqing.
In general, Zhang Fu, like Xu Da and Tang He, despite his high position, is never arrogant, but more cautious and humble.
Zhang Fu was Zhu Zhanji's assistant minister after Zhu Gaochi's death, and he sternly refused the bribery of Zhu Gaoxu, the king of Han, and reported the matter to Zhu Zhanji. After Zhu Zhanji's death, Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne, and five people including Zhang Fu assisted him.
However, Zhu Qizhen trusted the eunuch Wang Zhen more, which led them to-for-tat with the five ministers many times. In order to protect himself, Zhang Fu often remained silent when fighting against imperial power. After Warat continued to grow in the northern grasslands, Zhu Qizhen found an opportunity to establish his prestige, he and Wang Zhen sent troops to Datong, and more than 100 civil and military **, including Zhang Fu, were coerced in it.
Most of these people were officials who disobeyed Zhu Qizhen and Wang Zhen. Zhu Qizhen wanted them to see his political show of expelling Warat as a way to mentally humiliate them.
At the same time, he also stayed in the DPRK and some experienced ** like Zhang Fu, Kuang Kun, Wang Zuo, etc., but they were forbidden to intervene in the military. However, Zhang Fu was a famous general in the Ming army who had experienced the baptism of war, and Kuang Kun was a scholar of the military department and was well versed in military affairs.
But in the eyes of Zhu Qizhen and Wang Zhen, they are just spectators who have come to ** their victory in the war.
In 1449 AD, Zhu Qizhen of Ming Yingzong personally led an army of 500,000 to the north to attack Wara, but because of Wang Zhen's incompetence, the army was as disorganized as if it was playing in the mountains and rivers.
The shortage of food and grass made it impossible for the soldiers to normal**, and the number of people who starved to death was innumerable. Zhang Fu was angry at all this, but he had to swallow his anger, so he had to send Kuang Kun and Wang Zuo to persuade Zhu Qizhen to rectify the military and not to lose the war because of the underestimation of the enemy.
However, Zhu Qizhen and Wang Zhen ignored this, and instead tied Kuang Kun and Wang Zuo in a military tent and made them kneel for a whole day. Zhang Fu knew that this was Zhu Qizhen giving him a warning and telling him not to meddle in his affairs.
However, with the gradual retreat of the Warat army, Zhu Qizhen's confidence became stronger, and he no longer listened to the advice of Zhang Fu and others, insisted on going north, and finally fell into the encirclement network of Yexian.
The Ming army went deep into the war and the war was urgent, and Guo Jing persuaded him to withdraw from the army. Wang Zhen was frightened and proposed to withdraw his troops. But Wang Zhenwei showed off his hometown of Ulzhou and wanted to pass through Bauhinia Pass. Although Zhang Fu was at odds with Wang Zhen, he believed that the Bauhinia Pass was a safe route and did not oppose it.
However, when he was about to arrive at Bauhinia Pass, Wang Zhen changed his mind and went to Xuanhua instead. At this time, they also chase closely, and if they enter the Bauhinia Pass, they can intercept Warat. However, Wang Zhen was worried that the army would trample on the fertile fields of Ulzhou and affect the prestige of his hometown, so he insisted on marching to Xuanhua, which caused Zhang Fu to be dissatisfied.
Zhang Fu went to Zhu Qizhen and suggested that he abandon Xuanhua and return to Beijing through Bauhinia Pass instead, and analyzed the pros and cons. However, Zhang Fu didn't expect Zhu Qizhen to hate him so much. After the song was delivered, Zhu Qizhen immediately summoned Zhang Fu and sternly questioned his motives, whether he wanted to emulate Kuang Kun and Wang Zuo.
Zhang Fu knew that in Zhu Qizhen's heart, he was old and could no longer be up to the task. When the Ming army arrived in Xuanhua, Yexian's troops followed. At this time, Zhu Qizhen realized the danger, and he ordered Wu Kezhong's brothers and Zhu Yong to break off, but he didn't expect his 500,000 army to be so vulnerable.
Wu Kezhong was killed, and the Ming army was instantly crushed. On September 1, the Warat army besieged Zhu Qizhen in Tumubao, like a flood. The 75-year-old Zhang Fu picked up his sword and mounted his horse, bravely killed the enemy, and failed to cover Zhu Qizhen's breakthrough many times, and finally died under the chaos.
After Zhang Fu's death, Zhu Qizhen was captured alive by Wara, and his most trusted eunuch Wang Zhen was also killed by Fan Zhong. This Northern Expedition not only buried hundreds of thousands of elite Ming troops, but also killed more than 100 loyal ministers such as Zhang Fu and Wang Zuo, making the Ming Dynasty turn from prosperity to decline and from attack to defense.