The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

The fighting gradually subsided in various places.

After surviving the ordeal, Tang Yin walked the streets of Zhangjiakoubao and felt for the second time in his life how wonderful it was to be alive.

The last time I had this feeling was when I came out of the private prison of Prince Ning's mansion and saw the light of day again.

After the battle, the soldiers stripped the Tatar soldiers of their captured armor, propped it up with iron poles, and paraded through the city as if carrying a victory flag to celebrate their victory.

Some soldiers even carried Tatar heads on their shoulders and paraded them through the streets.

"Mr. Tang, congratulations." Zhang Yong and Xu Tai appeared in front of Tang Yin together.

Tang Yin asked, "Have any troops been sent to pursue the remaining Tartar soldiers?"

Zhang Yong laughed and said, "We can't catch up! The Tartars abandoned their siege supplies, but they can't really be considered a defeated army. Even if they are a defeated army... it's a desperate enemy that you shouldn't pursue."

Zhang Yong's point was, let's know when to stop, why are you taking it so seriously?

"Where is Governor Jiang?" Tang Yin asked.

After a battle, the commander-in-chief disappeared without a trace?

"Who cares!" Zhang Yong was still a little angry when he mentioned Jiang Bin. "He patted his chest and said that he could lure the Tartars in and trap them, but the Tartars ran rampant in the city. Fortunately, the soldiers fought bravely and managed to keep the Tartars out of the pass."

Tang Yin asked, "Indeed. It's all thanks to the third young master of the Ning Prince's mansion."

"Hehe." Zhang Yong gave an awkward laugh.

It is highly unlikely that he would try to erase Zhu Yi's contribution to the relief efforts.

After all, the fact that the people from the Prince Ning's mansion went to rescue him was witnessed by others.

Zhang De limped over and said, "Where is the young prince? I would like to go and thank him."

Zhang Yong glared at him and said, "Instead of properly recovering from your injuries, you still have the mind to run around looking for your benefactor? Men, carry him away. It'll take a hundred days to recover from this broken bone. Don't go anywhere and rest properly."

"What about the third young master of the Ning family?" Tang Yin asked again, still in a daze.

He felt uneasy when he couldn't see Zhu Yi for a while.

Zhang Yong said, "Let's move to the central command tent first and have a proper discussion on how to achieve victory."

Tang Yin frowned and asked, "Am I involved?"

"How could we have done this without you? You were instrumental in making the decision," Zhang Yong said with a sly smile.

……

……

Inside the central command tent.

Tang Yin met Jiang Bin.

They still hadn't seen Zhu Yi or anyone from the Prince of Ning's residence.

"Governor Jiang, what have you done? Our lives were almost lost here! The Tartars breached the city, shouldn't you have held the breach and prevented any mistakes?"

Upon seeing Jiang Bin, Zhang Yong immediately spoke in a accusatory tone.

Jiang Bin said apologetically, "Please forgive me, Eunuch Zhang. Those Tartars are really cunning. They sent armored soldiers to charge in first, and two or three hundred of them rushed in all at once. Although we managed to stop their flow later, it was difficult to kill them in the city. The city was in chaos, so we didn't pay attention to this side."

Zhang Yong frowned and asked, "How much is the first merit?"

"We got...43 heads, and captured two people. Actually, we killed some more, but we didn't keep their heads because they were taken by the Tartars' accomplices...We also got more than 100 head of livestock. It can be said that we won a great victory." Jiang Bin said, both excited and regretful.

Zhang Yongdao: "So that means most of the Tartars who stormed into the city managed to escape?"

Jiang Bin quickly said, "Don't worry about those trivial matters, we need to report the victory to His Majesty as soon as possible. You see..."

"Shouldn't we hear Mr. Tang's opinion?"

Zhang Yong seemed slightly disappointed.

The Tatars entered the city and, despite successfully closing the gates, still failed to achieve their desired victory.

He and all the officers in the tent turned their gaze to Tang Yin.

Tang Yin had never felt so respected.

He stammered, "Today, I owe my life to the Third Young Master of the Ning family. He even personally killed two Tartars, which I witnessed firsthand. As for any other contributions, we should take a closer look."

Zhang Yong smiled and said, "Mr. Tang, there's no need for you to emphasize this. The merits of the young prince of Ningfu will be truthfully verified and reported to His Majesty. Now, could you please consider how this victory should be reported? Also, could you predict how the battle situation might change next?"

Jiang Bin said with displeasure, "Eunuch Zhang, aren't you making things difficult for Mr. Tang? He already said that everything he saw in the future was just a dream. Look at him these past two days, working day and night, how could he have time to foresee the future?"

Zhang Yong frowned.

This charlatan surnamed Tang is truly unique; he can only do things with his eyes closed, and even with his eyes open, he cannot divine the secrets of heaven.

"Mr. Tang, this way please." Jiang Bin invited Tang Yin to the side, making Tang Yin the only person present with a seat.

Zhang Yongli stared at Jiang Bin, who was fawning over him.

He finds Jiang Bin increasingly unpleasant to look at now.

When did this guy start showing such respect to Tang Yin? He's even siding with Tang Yin?

By the way, didn't you already categorize Tang Yin as part of Qian Ning's faction?

I advised you before to get along well with Tang Yin and the young prince of the Ning family, but you kept finding fault with me.

"Mr. Tang, this report of victory needs to be drafted by you," Zhang Yong said.

Tang Yin then stood up and said, "We should follow everyone's opinions."

Zhang Yong smiled and said, "Please sit down. Here, Wenjue respects you the most, after all, you were sent by His Majesty to oversee the battle. We are just rough and uncouth warriors."

"Yes, yes." Xu Tai also came over to join in the fun.

Tang Yin felt incredibly awkward.

Having lived a life of mediocrity, he was suddenly treated with such courtesy by the emperor's favorite minister. Although he knew this was probably just a temporary gesture of appeasement after winning a battle, he still felt quite pleased.

"Well... let's hear the Third Young Master's opinion. I think he also played a key role in this battle." Tang Yin could only push Zhu Yi out.

Jiang Bin asked, puzzled, "Why do you keep mentioning that Prince Ning?"

Zhang Yong was taken aback at first, but then he realized something, and even suddenly felt a sense of shock. He immediately said sternly, "What are you waiting for? Why don't you hurry up and invite the young prince of the Ning family over? Our achievements today are all thanks to this young prince."

Jiang Bin looked at Zhang Yong with a puzzled expression.

Zhang Yong didn't even want to talk to Jiang Bin.

He thought to himself, "This blockhead has probably forgotten that His Majesty listened to Qian Ning's advice that if we win this battle, the young prince of the Ning family might be adopted as his stepson."

Instead of trying to win him over, you're pushing him towards Qian Ning's camp?

Don't you understand what it means to be in a good position and benefit from the advantages of proximity?

It's true that Qian Ning recommended him, but we have a deep bond with the Little Prince; we even crawled out of the same trench together. We've been through thick and thin together! How can Qian Ning compare to us?

……

……

Zhu Yi was then invited into the central command tent.

"Is everyone here?" Zhu Yi asked calmly.

It seemed as if the bloody battle he had just experienced was nothing to him.

Zhang Yong exclaimed, "The young prince is skilled in archery and horsemanship, and he took the enemy general's head amidst the chaos of battle. He is truly a model for the sons of the Ming Dynasty's imperial family. He is worthy of our utmost respect."

"I dare not accept such praise." Zhu Yi looked around at everyone present, and finally fixed his gaze on Tang Yin, who was filled with shame.

Zhang Yong said, "We are discussing the matter of submitting a memorial regarding military merits, and we have specially invited the young prince to come and discuss it together."

Jiang Bin also came over, smiling, and asked, "Is the little prince alright?"

"It's alright." Zhu Yi was also not quite used to the sudden enthusiasm of this group of people.

"Here is a draft memorial based on the battle results. Would you like someone to read it to you?" Zhang Yongzhen's face clearly showed his flattery.

Zhu Yi cupped his hands and said, "I am new to this and do not know much about the rules of reporting a victory. I will have to ask you all to make the decision."

Zhang Yong then smiled and replied, "Your Highness, you are too kind. Your bravery today has truly set an example for us. Who in the army doesn't praise your wisdom and martial prowess? Since Your Highness has no objections, then let it be so! A victory in this battle will surely bring the Emperor great joy!"

……

……

The report of victory was immediately sent to the capital by courier.

At the entrance of the central command tent, Tang Yin pulled Zhu Yi aside and asked anxiously, "Where did you go earlier? You were always so elusive, appearing and disappearing without a trace. Did you have so much to do?"

Zhu Yi looked exhausted and said, "You have their respect; they treat you like a sage. But I'm just a member of the imperial clan. Why would they take me seriously? I'm lucky to even have a place to stay in this city! Do I have the right to decide where I go?"

"So what should we do next?" Tang Yin asked. "Will the Tartars return?"

"I don't know," Zhu Yi replied with an indifferent expression.

As they were talking, Zhang Yong and Jiang Bin also came out of the tent.

Judging from their expressions, they must have reached a tacit understanding on some matters.

"Young Prince, Mr. Tang, you two have worked hard. You deserve the greatest credit for this battle. His Majesty has always held you in high esteem. Why don't we have a victory banquet prepared so we can discuss this in detail?" Zhang Yong extended an invitation.

Tang Yin still had some doubts.

Zhu Yi immediately understood that Zhang Yong was planning to extend an invitation to political allies.

The celebration was a pretense; the real purpose was to discuss cooperation.