The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

On the morning of April 20th, just as dawn was breaking.

Tang Yin dragged his weary body to the front of the central command tent, but could not find Zhu Yi anywhere, which intensified his anxiety.

"Mr. Tang?" Zhang Yong greeted him, holding a musket, and handed it directly to Tang Yin.

Tang Yin took it with a puzzled look and asked, "What's this?"

Zhang Yong laughed and said, "A divine gun, for self-defense. This is a fireball, and this is gunpowder. Add the gunpowder here first, then add the fireball. This is the fuse. Light it with a flintlock pistol, aim it at the front, and fire directly. Its power is much greater than that of an arrow."

Tang Yin thought to himself, "How could I not know that this is a musket?"

My question is, what's the point of giving me a musket? Are you expecting a weak scholar like me to fight the Tartars to the death?

"Where is the young master of the Ning family?" Tang Yin asked quickly.

Without Zhu Yi by his side, he seemed to have lost his backbone.

Zhang Yong said, "The little prince is well protected by the Ning Prince's Palace Guard, so you don't need to worry. You can just come with us today."

Tang Yin then realized that on the day of the battle, he was not qualified to walk with Zhu Yi.

As they were talking, Zhang Yong's younger brother, Zhang De, also came over with a divine musket, followed by several elite eunuchs drawn from the Imperial Guard.

"Mr. Tang, according to your description, the Tartars will storm into the city today. They have already dug many trenches inside the breached part of the north city wall, so the Tartar cavalry cannot break in. Once they enter the city, they will be trapped like turtles in a jar." Zhang Yong was originally a conservative, but he was also somewhat excited at the moment.

It seems that Tang Yin's strategy of waiting in the city to fight, which allowed them to conserve their energy, was in line with his expectations.

Tang Yin asked, "What if the Tartars attack from another direction?"

Zhang Yong was taken aback, then waved his hand and laughed, "The Tartars can also simplify things. Besides, Zhangjiakou Fort only has a city gate on the south side, so it won't be easy for them to attack. There are still more than four thousand garrison troops inside the city, which is enough to handle the situation."

"Four thousand men... is that enough?" Tang Yin was still very worried.

Zhang Yong said, "That's quite a lot. We only have one under-strength thousand-household battalion stationed here. We've transferred some troops from Wanquan Right Guard, along with troops from Xuanfu and those from the Beijing Garrison, which barely makes up four thousand defenders. No matter how many Tartars there are, they're afraid of dying. They won't fight us to the death."

Tang Yin thought to himself, "How come I remember that kid Zhu Yi said that in the twelfth year of Zhengde, the Tatars would conquer Xuanfu Town and kill and capture tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians of our Great Ming?"

But here they say the Tatars won't fight to the death?

Will I run into this place before it happens?

"Did Mr. Tang have any dreams last night?" Zhang Yong asked.

Tang Yin shook his head and said, "My mind is in turmoil; I haven't slept a wink all night. How could I possibly be in the mood for dreams?"

Zhang Yong said, "It's alright. The troops inside the city are now fully organized and ready to be deployed!"

……

……

Tang Yin appeared very passive; unable to find Zhu Yi, he could only mechanically follow behind Zhang Yong.

Wherever Zhang Yong went, he followed.

"Eunuch Zhang!"

Just before noon, a night scout came to report, "Traces of Tatar cavalry have been discovered fifteen miles north of the city, and there are quite a few of them."

Zhang Yong exclaimed in shock, "They really came? Mr. Tang, you truly are a prophet!"

Zhang Yong's respect for Tang Yin was originally just out of politeness.

Now he has to re-evaluate Tang Yin's value in this battle, or rather, examine Tang Yin's future standing in the emperor's eyes.

"They've really come. How many people are there?" Tang Yin seemed much more nervous than Zhang Yong.

The messenger said, "A few thousand."

Zhang Yong said, "Order Xu Tai to transfer troops to the east. We will garrison the eastern part of the city. Mr. Tang, you don't need to worry. Our mission is to garrison the east side of the city."

Tang Yin asked curiously, "Wasn't the breach in the city wall on the north side?"

Zhang Yong looked at him with a suspicious gaze, as if to say, "You're just a scholar, you don't really intend to rush to the front line and fight the Tartars to the death, do you?"

Even if you wanted to, the emperor couldn't agree.

Our family still needs to make sure you get back to the capital safely!

"We understand Mr. Tang's heroic spirit in serving his country, but we must also ensure our own safety first. Here is a suit of armor; you can wear it for now, it will at least protect you from stray arrows!" Zhang Yong also showed concern by finding armor for Tang Yin.

Tang Yin felt incredibly frustrated.

Last month I was just pretending to be crazy in Nanchang, how come I suddenly turned around and ran to Zhangjiakou in Xuanfu to confront the Tartars head-on?

This is way more exciting than winter swimming in Nanhu Lake in the dead of winter!

……

……

Tang Yin originally wanted to climb up the city wall to take a look.

However, Zhang Yong blocked his way.

Outside, the sound of horses' hooves and a chilling atmosphere filled the air. Reports from the city walls continued to pour down regarding the Tatars' advance, each piece of news keeping Tang Yin on edge.

Zhang Yong comforted him, "If you stick your head out, you'll easily get hit by a stray arrow. Listen to us, it's safe here! You guys, cover it up."

Zhang Yong gave Tang Yin a full demonstration of how afraid he was of death. Not only did he hide under a wall, but he also found a brick and tile house and covered it with two layers of thick wooden planks.

Tang Yin was also thinking, "Everyone says that you, Eunuch Zhang, are incredibly brave and famous in battle. So that's how you achieved your past military exploits?"

"Waaah..."

There seemed to be the sound of horns coming from outside.

Faint shouts of battle could be heard coming from the north of Zhangjiakou Fort.

Tang Yin had just peeked out when Zhang Yong pulled him back, saying, "Why won't you listen to me? Your life is the most important thing! You're here to gain merit, so even if the army is defeated, it has nothing to do with you. I will take you back to the capital to meet the Emperor."

Tang Yin thought to himself, "If the Prince of Ning's third son dies, then even if I go to the capital, I will be completely helpless. I might as well die here and die for my country!"

"Boom..." Suddenly, a strange sound came.

Zhang De rushed over and shouted, "Brother, something terrible has happened! The Tartars have smashed down the half-finished north city wall, and their troops have already entered the city!"

"What's the panic?" Zhang Yong shouted. "Isn't this the original plan? The Tartar cavalry can't get in!"

"The cavalry can't get in, but they have armored warriors charging ahead, managing to block the arrows and filling the pits with logs and other things. More Tartars have already entered the city!" Although Zhang De had a title, he himself had no actual combat experience, and he was quite startled when recounting the battle situation.

Tang Yin pressed further, "Have you seen the young prince of the Ning Prince's residence?"

Zhang De was taken aback.

He was puzzled. "At this point, why are you still concerned about the life or death of that child?"

Even if the emperor said he intended to adopt that child, it doesn't matter if he dies. We can just send another one from the Prince of Ning's residence! What difference does it make?

"I didn't see it. It's probably in the south of the city," Zhang De said.

Tang Yin almost considered carrying his divine musket to the south of the city to meet up with Zhu Yi.

"It's terrible! The Tartars are attacking!" Another eunuch from the Jing Army rushed over to report the situation.

Zhang Yong, looking puzzled, said, "You usually seem so domineering, how come you're so incompetent in battle? Even if the Tartars enter the city, it won't be that easy for them to break through! We're still two miles north of the city!"

"bump!"

As they were talking, something suddenly fell on Zhang Yong's head.

This startled Zhang Yong.

However, a piece of city brick that had been broken by the Tatars using a catapult fell down and pierced through the roof. The brick was of good quality, and after it pierced through the roof, it fell heavily to the ground and shattered.

Although no one was hit, it still startled the group of people huddled inside the house.

"Brother, it doesn't seem very safe here," Zhang De warned.

"Walk forward a bit, there's a platform over there, go over there!"

As Zhang Yong spoke, he took out the binoculars issued to him, jumped out of the house, and scrambled onto the platform. After looking through the binoculars for a while, he exclaimed in shock, "The Tartars... they've really come!"

Zhang De raised his musket and commanded, "Men, protect Eunuch Zhang!"

A group of eunuchs from the Imperial Guards nearby moved in perfect unison and ran away without even a moment's hesitation.

Zhang De looked back, and just as he was feeling bewildered, an arrow shot over with a "whoosh" and hit his breastplate.

"oops!"

Zhang De was knocked to the ground by the force of the arrow. When he got up, he was screaming in terror, as if his life was hanging by a thread.

When Zhang Yong went over and pulled out the arrow, he realized that the arrow had not penetrated his body.

"Brother, don't move! My bones... seem to be broken!" Zhang De couldn't even get up from the ground.

The impact fractured his ribs.

Tang Yin watched in disbelief, thinking to himself, "What kind of idiots are these?"

Didn't we agree that the Tatars were also afraid of death?

Why do I get the feeling that you guys are the real rabble?

Everything was planned and ambushed in the city. How could the Tatars have broken through all the obstacles and stormed into the east of the city from the inside? It was a complete rout.

"Xu Tai! Quickly send word for Xu Tai to come and protect Mr. Tang!" Zhang Yong ordered the remaining local guards beside him, while crouching down and pressing his hand on his helmet.

As the guards left, Tang Yin noticed that of the group of guards who had surrounded him, only three or four remained, still frantically helping to carry the boxes.

Tang Yin was also puzzled.

What's in this box? Why would someone carry it around even during a war?